


seal up my heart

by smtowndream



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Donghyuck loves love!, Fake dating trope is SUPER heavy here, GIVE DONGHYUCK THE LOOOVE, M/M, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-08-06 15:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16390394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smtowndream/pseuds/smtowndream
Summary: Whenever he felt the infatuation for a certain someone run a little high, he penned them a letter. They were never extremely long letters, they were what Donghyuck considered a good length to encase and detail his innocent adoration. Which, admittingly, was usually a page or so; sometimes more, depending on who the letter was written for.He wrote the letters themselves in his messy cursive on his cream colored stationery, before sealing them into a baby blue envelope with that person's address on the front. For safekeeping, all letters were stored in a shoebox tied with a ribbon that was sneakily stashed away at the top of his closet.And there were five letters to date.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO HELLO!!┌(◠﹏◠)┘ Welcome to my FIRST EVER NCT fic! I’m really excited to post it, it’s been in the works for a month or two. Just a little rundown: this is a To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before inspired Hyuckhei (with dashes of Nomin and Markhyuck) fic. I’m planning to split this into two, possibly three BUT more likely two, chapters! That’s reaaally all I have to say so I hope you guys enjoy!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had to really pinch himself, just to see if this was all really happening. Maybe he was dreaming, and this was one of those virtual reality kind of things; he wasn’t sure why that would be the case, but that explanation made more sense than Wong Yukhei standing before him and telling him they were going to date a little while. Yukhei seems to realize that Donghyuck pinching himself, and his grin intensifies. “I know you probably can’t believe this. I’m such a catch and all. But, I’ll give up my senior year bachelor status for you. You specifically, Lee Donghyuck, as long as you want it.” 
> 
> _Pinch_. 
> 
> “So you’re basically saying.. You want us to date for a little while? Seriously?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI GUYS! Welcome to the first chapter :D

There were five in total.

Lee Haechan, known as Donghyuck to pretty much everyone in town, had never been one to conceal his feelings. Ever since his adolescence, he wore his heart on his sleeve proudly, and kept his opinions free for the general public. He was known for believing and conveying all his thoughts actively.

Or at least _most_ of them.

See, the thing with Donghyuck was that he was passionate about everything he did. Academics, the occasional sport, his friendships, and like most people, when he had a crush, he fell hard. And while he was open about everything else in his life, his crushes were the only things he preferred to keep private.

So whenever he felt the infatuation for a certain someone run a little high, he penned them a letter. They were never extremely long letters, they were what Donghyuck considered a good length to encase and detail his innocent adoration. Which, admittingly, was usually a page or so; sometimes more, depending on who the letter was written for.

He wrote the letters themselves in his messy cursive on his cream colored stationery, before sealing them into a baby blue envelope with that person's address on the front. For safekeeping, all letters were stored in a shoe box tied with a ribbon that was sneakily stashed away at the top of his closet.

And there were five letters to date.

First, there was Lee Jeno. Jeno is his next door neighbor, and currently one of his closest friends. Jeno was the most innocent of Donghyuck crushes, blossoming at the young age of 12. Donghyuck had been fascinated by Jeno’s friendly nature, and how adorable it was that his eyes disappeared whenever his beautiful smile decided to make an appearance. For Donghyuck, Jeno was the ideal idea of what a crush was supposed to be. The crush faded slowly after the two founded a lasting friendship. Donghyuck believed with all his heart that he would rather have Jeno by his side as his everlasting best friend rather than anything else. He never regretted his crush on him per say, he just simply chose to never tell Jeno about it.

Second was Huang Renjun from his vacation to the Jeju shores a year or two back. He had met the boy on the sun-bleached sands when Renjun accidentally knocked over Donghyuck’s umbrella. He was beach tan with dyed dirty blonde hair that hung over his big, doe like eyes. They had mutually decided to not take what was simply a crush at first sight any further than the crystal blue waters of Jeju, but they exchanged addresses in hopes of not letting the rare initial connection. They still talked every now and then, and Donghyuck considered him a close friend even though they lived miles and miles away.

Third was Na Jaemin from the candy store downtown. Donghyuck had a bit of a sweet tooth, and happened to find Jaemin’s store while cruising down the sidewalk on his bike. He literally stumbled upon it, falling ungracefully onto the pavement and bumping into the cute boy passing out samples. Donghyuck was absolutely mortified— this absolute angel was trying to hand out tiny pieces of white heart shaped chocolate candies and here he was, tumbling into him. Jaemin wasn’t even fazed, barely batting an eyelash as he placed the plate down to help Donghyuck up. Donghyuck ended up buying two bars of chocolate that day, and coming back solely for the boy with the pastel pink hair. Donghyuck had dreamt up wittily sweet puns to use when asking the candy boy out, and his heart fluttered at the very thought. That was until Jeno had told him that Jaemin suddenly was transferred into one of his classes and that he himself developed a crush. Donghyuck surrendered instantly, knowing that if Jeno had a crush on someone, they must’ve been someone pretty special. Jeno rarely developed crushes, and the endearing way Jeno spoke to him about how he practically melted to shy mush whenever Jaemin smiled at him from across the room made Hyuck’s heart swell with happiness. It was fine, _really_. Donghyuck himself would have many many more future loves. 

Fourth was Wong Yukhei, or Xuxi as he was called by a large portion of the student body. This was the shortest of all Hyuck’s crushes, as it was _solely_ a physical attraction. Yukhei transferred from China to Korea for high school, and he was this gorgeously funny and multilingual boy. Donghyuck fell in love on the spot, but fell out of love once he the realization that he had almost no chance with the devastatingly beautiful upperclassman hit. There was also the contributing factor that Yukhei _appeared_ to be extremely arrogant, and that simply wouldn’t fly with him. Yukhei’s letter was written out of a blind irritation one day out of the blue, and his was one of the letters Donghyuck considered the most embarrassing. He never talked to Yukhei much anyway, so it was pushed to the back of his mind.

Fifth, and worst of all, was his best friend in the world, Mark Lee. In the grand scheme of things, Donghyuck considers Mark to be his greatest downfall. Yet _another_ transfer, Donghyuck fell too hard for the cute Korean boy who originally hailed from Canada. Given, like Yukhei, almost everyone fell in love with the charismatic yet awkward Mark Lee. There was something captivating about his dimples, his infectious smile, and even his giggle. But Donghyuck knew him deeper than the external front that their peers saw, and Donghyuck still found everything about Mark so absolutely charming. Like the way Mark’s reactions were always over the top, or his oddly vast love for watermelon, or that he had the tendency to laugh too loud or yell random English words when he became flustered. ( _He remembers when one of the girls in the class asked Mark out for coffee, and he began to babble in English instead of Korean. Donghyuck had to calm Mark down after, the boy was so utterly embarrassed_.) All of this compiled together Donghyuck’s indomitable infatuation with Mark Lee. But Mark’s was the number one letter that absolutely could not be sent out. 100%. Never. Not even in his dreams.

Donghyuck was confident in the safety of his shoe box, though. The letters being sent out? Of course not.

* * *

“Absolutely _not_! I’m not nervous! What would I have to be nervous about? It’s just junior year.” Donghyuck popped a handful of popcorn into his mouth as he comfortably lounged on his bed.

Twas the night before the first day of junior year, and Mark and Jeno were over his house. It had become tradition to gather at Donghyuck’s house the night before the big first day of the school year. The three would discuss extracurriculars and goals for the upcoming year. They’d share snacks and excitedly swap thoughts, eventually sharing a piping hot cup of hot cocoa before dispersing to their respective houses for bed.

This year was no different in theory. Except there was something lingering in the air, something he couldn’t quite name. They were all gathered in Hyuck’s room upstairs, and Jeno was jogging down different ideas he was throwing at him.

Donghyuck was student body president —with Jeno as his VP, _obviously_ — and it was up to him to suggest ideas for pranks and spirit days. Mark had always been a grade up, being born in ‘99 and all, but was always willing to help his friends out with whatever they needed. Some of their best ideas were developed off some silly comments Mark had mentioned to Donghyuck and Jeno.

But tonight, he didn’t look enthusiastic about scheming prank plans. He didn’t want to talk about what sports he’d play or what clubs he thought of joining. Mark seemed pensive, sitting with his legs across as he cradled the bowl of popcorn in his lap. Donghyuck had tried to pry into the older boy a bit, prodding him and asking if he was okay. Mark continuously insisted that he was fine, but Donghyuck knew that wasn’t the case. He knew Mark like he knew the back of his hand. There was nothing Mark and Donghyuck could hide from each other. Usually it would all spill out, but this time Mark seemed guarded.

“Mark,” Donghyuck flung a handful of popcorn from his own bowl at Mark’s face, suddenly snapping the boy back into the reality that was Donghyuck’s bedroom. “What’s wrong?” Mark’s lips parted but Donghyuck cuts him off, knowing exactly what the other boy was going to say. “And don’t say you’re fine. That’s bullshit because I know you’re upset.”

Mark relented. “You guys are talking about junior year and.. it’s hitting me now that I’m not a junior anymore. I’m a senior and I’m graduating, and I’ve never been so scared of anything in my life,” And truthfully, it made sense. Mark had avoided the topic of the upcoming school year for a while now, and Donghyuck feels silly for not noticing it before. “I’ll probably go away for college and I won’t see you guys. I’ll be the transfer, the new guy all over again without you by my side. It’s fucking _scary_ , guys.”

A slight silence hung in the air, Mark’s words ringing off the walls of the room. Donghyuck could see the genuine fear in Mark’s eyes as he spoke about his unknown future, about the inevitability that is leaving all one knows to start again. It hurts Donghyuck to see his best friend like this, but he knows there’s no real way to reassure Mark that everything would go well. Realistically, everything _could_ end up going wrong. Knowing that, how could he tell Mark that his worries were silly?

Donghyuck took a deep breath. “Mark. Your worries are valid, obviously. The idea of going to college is a little scary for everyone. Do you really think that, if given the choice, anyone would willingly leave their home and friends to go start somewhere new?” He pauses, because some people might do that, actually. “I know you’re scared but honestly, you are so capable of doing great things. You’re good at sports, you’re sometimes funny, you’re sociable, not to mention you have amazing grades —”

“— And you’re cute!” adds Jeno with a giggle, raising his hand in the air towards Mark.

Donghyuck nods vigorously at the addition. _If only_ Mark knew how cute he was, or how cute Donghyuck thought he was. He could go on and on and on about that topic. “And you’re cute, yes. Who’s cuter than Mark Lee? Nobody, of course! With all these things, you’ll do great anywhere. You’re the best boy we know, don’t worry about not being good enough for college because you’re already _better_.”

Mark wipes at his eyes but despite that, tiny silver droplets roll down his cheeks. Even like this, Donghyuck found that Mark had such a beauty that he shined in every moment possible — even when he his face was slightly puffy, cheeks rosy, and eyes tinted red due to tears.

 _TYou’re so whipped_ , thought Donghyuck as Jeno passes tissues to Mark, _Donghyuck, you are so so dead_.

“Thanks guys, really,” Mark chuckles, hiding his face with his hoodie as he dabs at his eyes with the Kleenex. He seems to look a less stressed than he did a few minutes before and as long as Donghyuck helped even a little bit, he was content. “I feel so much better finally saying everything out loud. I’ve been worried about this all summer, I was sure I was going to burst if I didn’t tell you guys.”

Mark has felt like this all summer, and he didn’t feel the need to confide in Donghyuck about this? He waited until the situation was eating him alive to reveal this to his best friends, and even though Mark had every reason to keep his feelings to himself, it was something so unlike him to do. Donghyuck frowns a little. He told Mark everything, from how he was feeling a little under the weather after the pizza he ate to his disappointment over the nearby frozen yogurt place not serving his favorite flavor because it was seasonal. So just thinking that Mark went the whole summer without letting Donghyuck in on his discomfort about starting the school year was disconcerting. 

But Mark is smiling at him from across the room, and any harbored feelings Donghyuck felt went out the window.

Jeno pats the imaginary dust off his black sweats before standing. “Well! Now that Mark is okay and we have a pretty good list of ideas, how about we go have some hot chocolate? The three of us need to rest up for tomorrow.”

Mark and Donghyuck agree as well, so the three of them head down to the empty kitchen. It’s Donghyuck’s house but Jeno makes the best hot chocolate, so the two let him take the reins in the kitchen. As Jeno prepares the drink they sit on the bar stools by the marble island counter, initially quiet until Mark turns to Donghyuck.

“Hey.”

“Yeah, Mark?”

And Mark’s attention is completely focused on Donghyuck, and he feels embarrassed enough to want to turn away from Mark a little. He doesn’t though, unwavering as he stares into Mark’s eyes.

“Thank you. For everything you said back there. I appreciate you, so much,” Mark’s voice drifts off towards the end of the sentence. “More than you know, really.”

As Mark turned away, Donghyuck sensed that the conversation had no continuation and was essentially over. He knew that he himself nor Mark would say anything further, so Donghyuck took the words to heart and said nothing more. He could feel his cheeks heat up at the sentence, Mark’s words lingering in his head. Thankfully, Donghyuck did not have much time to think over the interaction, because soon enough Jeno called out something about the hot chocolate being done.

* * *

Donghyuck wakes up early the next morning, invigorated and ready to tackle the day’s challenges. After Mark and Jeno had left last night, Donghyuck took an hour to himself to lay out his outfit and pack up his book bag so he could relax the next morning. Breathing easy was exactly what he was doing now, waking up to his latest alarm and leisurely pushing the covers off his body to face daybreak’s beaming light. There was always something that made Donghyuck overjoyed at the mere thought of the new school year. A big reason Donghyuck adores the new school year is because everyone pretty much gets a clean slate. Summer’s hiatus wipes every student’s mind of all occurrences of the year past, both good and bad. That essentially means that every year, new chances can bloom. There are never really true endings to chapters in life, just several different opportunities to start again,

And that was what Donghyuck loved most. He adored being able to wake up every first day of school and prepare himself for the new section in his life that was about to begin. This year he decided from the get go, was going to be better to any of the years past. He was going to seize junior year and make it unforgettable. And to make this an unbelievable year, the only choice was to start off strong.

So Donghyuck did his morning routine with slightly more vigor than usual, washing his face and brushing his teeth before changing into the clothes he had planned the night before. Deciding to multitask, he combed his hair on his way downstairs to the kitchen. His family, early risers, were gathered at the breakfast table and passing plates around. Everything smelled so delicious, and Donghyuck was received warmly as he took his usual seat at the table and dug into breakfast. His parents and siblings made natural morning conversation before asking Donghyuck if he was ready for the first day of school, as his younger siblings didn’t start for another day or two. Donghyuck explained his first day logic to his family as he stuffed a forkful of rice into his mouth.

As he finishes his lengthy explanation, his mom interrupts Donghyuck to remind him that she made an extra portion of rice for Mark that was keeping warm in the tupperware on the counter. She also apologizes for not making any for Jeno, even though the apology wasn’t needed as Jeno’s family was strict with him not leaving the house until he ate eat breakfast. It’s fine, because Mark usually shares whatever food Donghyuck mom packs for him with Jeno anyway.

As if he was summoned whenever his name was brought up, the doorbell chimes loudly and Donghyuck rushes to open the front door, already knowing who it was. Without fail it’s the ever so handsome Mark Lee, flashing Donghyuck the brightest smile as he stood on his doorstep with his backpack in hand. In his other hand, Mark was tantalizingly shaking a silver flask, that Donghyuck knew held the most delicious drink in the world; Mark’s father’s coffee. Donghyuck wasn’t a serial coffee drinker, preferring warm tea, but he could drink coffee from Mark Lee’s house on the drop of a hat. And just like that, there was an exchange that occurred almost every school morning: Donghyuck’s mother made extra rice for Mark, and Mark’s dad made extra coffee for Donghyuck.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without this coffee every morning, Mark. I’m hooked, absolutely _addicted_.” Donghyuck seemed absolutely focused on the flask, snatching it out of Mark’s hand without a second thought.

Mark lightly pushed past Donghyuck to enter the house, rolling his eyes lazily. “Yes, good morning to you too, Donghyuck.” _He’s only joking_. “I was going to give Jeno a ride, do you want a ride too?”

Another tradition that had started rather recently with the Lee trio was Mark driving them around on days that were considered important. Events like Jeno’s  dance tournaments, Donghyuck’s vocal school recital, and most importantly, the first days of school. Jeno always gave up sitting in the front to Hyuck, and because of this Mark allowed Jeno to be control of the aux cord almost every time the three were in the car together. Donghyuck loved sitting next to Mark, watching how utterly focused the older boy was during driving. He was so responsible, and _so cute_!

But here’s another thing with starting a new year: Donghyuck didn’t like for _everything_ to be the same, at least not initially. With his doctrine in mind, Donghyuck politely declined the offer to be driven to school, much to Mark’s dismay.

Donghyuck couldn’t drive himself, God forbid he actually ever got behind the wheel. He got his permit based off pure luck, and now that the ability to drive freely was in his position he had decided to avoid the road at all costs. Driving was one of the things that Donghyuck likes to think about, but not put into action.

He was about certain that everyone knew that his driving skills were lackluster, anyway. His family knew it, his friends knew it, and by the way Donghyuck constantly practiced driving at all hours of the night and backing into all the trash cans and mailboxes, he’s sure his neighbors knew it as well. Not wanting to cause a fatality so young in his life, Donghyuck decided that for junior year _specifically_ he would bike to school.

Not to say he was a Tour de France level bike rider —not even to claim he was good at bike riding at all— but at least he knew he’d be able to bike to school and get there without fail. Sure he might fall off once or twice but hey, doesn’t everyone?

“You’re going to bike to school? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mark asked with his eyebrows raised. “We want everyone on the roads to be safe, I’m not sure that you biking anywhere is a good idea.”

“I will get there safe, thank you very much! What’s the worst I can do?” Donghyuck raises his hands in defense, eyes wide. “Bump into someone? Ooh, the tires of my bike are dangerous enough to cause large wounds, right? I may need insurance.”

Mark shoves Donghyuck jokingly, giggling. “Don’t be an _asshole_ , I’m just worrying for your well being!”

“And like I said, I will get there fine.” Donghyuck ends the conversation there, leading Mark into the dining room. His siblings and parents greet Mark with so much enthusiasm that Donghyuck is sure they love Mark more than their own son.

Donghyuck gathers his bag and the tupperware full of Mark’s rice, heading back to the table where Mark stands and intimately makes conversation with his family. He taps the boy’s shoulder once everything was collected, and Mark takes the hint to bid farewell to Donghyuck’s family and take leave. Donghyuck himself waves a quick goodbye before following Mark out the door.

His car was parked curbside directly in front of Donghyuck’s house. Mark leans against the beat up car his family had passed down to him, examining his best friend thoroughly. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

Donghyuck leaves Mark’s question open, quickly heading to the back to retrieve his bike. He leads it towards his best friend’s car, placing it defiantly by Mark’s slouching figure. “See if you hadn’t teased me about not getting there safe, maybe I would’ve given up biking to school and taken your offer. But I want to prove to you that I can get there safe! So, I’ll meet you and Jeno at school.”

Mark shrugs, grinning. “Suit yourself.” He throws his book bag in the backseat of the car, taking Donghyuck’s as well and placing it in the car beside his own. He’s grateful, he didn’t want to have to cycle all the way to school with the looming weight of a backpack pressing on his back. “If at any point you want me to come get you, call me. I have a study period as my first class, so I can afford being a little late. Plus,” Mark gives Donghyuck a dazzling smile as he hops into the driver’s seat, “I’m a senior now, what can they do if I’m 10 minutes late?”

Since Mark had to wait for Jeno to come out, Donghyuck figured he’d get a head start at biking to school. He had plenty of time to spare, but that just meant there was room in case something went wrong. Not that it would.

The crisp September breeze whirred past Donghyuck as he pedaled down the vacant streets of the town. The only sounds able to be heard were the sounds of children’s laughter and the light chatter made by those who opted to walk to school. Something about the trip itself was somewhat therapeutic to Donghyuck, the silence granting him space to contemplate a whole bunch of things. Like what he’d have for lunch, or what plans the trio could do over the weekend. Before he knew it, he rolled onto the street of the school.

Donghyuck felt victorious. He had proven Mark wrong, arriving at school without any mishaps. He felt happy, for himself, that he was able to get himself to school without the aid of anyone else! His mind was chanting _Go Donghyuck_! _Go Donghyuck_! as he rode to the spots where the bikes were kept. He was just about ready to sigh in relief and hop off onto the pavement.

...Until he felt the front of his bike slam into a car door. He wasn’t even sure what happened, or if it was his fault or not. Only seconds after the collision does it really register with Donghyuck, and he topples onto the black gravel floor. The owner of the cherry red car steps out, angrily stomping over to where Donghyuck lay _dazed_.

“What are you doing! Were you even looking where you were going?”

Donghyuck hated getting scolded, for two reasons mainly. Firstly, it wrecked his ego whenever he ended up doing something wrong; especially if it lead to him getting yelled at. Secondly, simply because he was human. Nobody enjoy getting screamed at, no matter the reason, and Donghyuck was not an exception. This situation was even worse, because he was literally sprawled on the floor _and_ getting yelled at — it was a double loss.

Donghyuck confusingly blinks up at the figure. “I was going to park my bike.”

“The bike slots are in the opposite direction! And you just rode your bike into my brand new car so I swear, Lee Donghyuck you better _hope_ my car isn’t dented.”

The owner goes to inspect his car, and even Donghyuck himself manages to sit up to attempt to spot any damage done by his bike and his now reckless self. Donghyuck lets an audible gasp slip past his lips as he notices multiple scratches on the side, revealing the silver underneath rather than the cherry red paint. And to accompany the discoloration, there was the _tiniest_ dent on the side that was surely caused by Donghyuck’s bike.

He was _so dead_.

Because Wong Yukhei was going to kill him.

He starts mumbling his prayers under his breath as Yukhei slowly turns towards him. Donghyuck felt like the lead in a horror movie, when the victim can’t do anything but helplessly gaze up at the monster. Yukhei is staring him down incredulously, and Donghyuck’s heart speeds up. Taking a deep and patient breath, the tall boy leans down into a crouching position on the floor. The two were now eye to eye, and Donghyuck could see Yukhei perfectly now.

He was wearing a pair of faded jeans with a tucked in, not fully buttoned white shirt — from Donghyuck’s angle, he could see Yukhei’s prominently tan and sharp collarbones. Was that part of school dress code? Could he even _have_ his shirt unbuttoned _that low_? The sun was beaming down on Yukhei in the prettiest of ways, seemingly making the boy glow. Not to mention his usually brown eyes and hair seemed golden in the beaming light, painting a perfect picture of beauty. Donghyuck felt nervous to be on the opposite end of Yukhei’s now golden eyed stare.

Donghyuck wasn’t sure if he was intimidated because of Yukhei’s visual shock, or if it was the anger that was radiating simply from the way he was positioned on the floor. As Yukhei’s lips parted to say something, Donghyuck figures he can safely assume it was a little bit of both.

“You just dented my car, you know that?”

Donghyuck lips are shaped in an ‘o’. “Y-Yes, I saw.”

“Yeah? So what exactly are you going to do about it?”

Donghyuck racked his mind for options. He didn’t have insurance, so he can’t wave a card in Yukhei’s face and say it would all be taken care of. He wasn’t sure if he had enough money in his savings to cover a whole car dent. He might have to ask his parents, but that would only come out of the monthly allowance he got for school related items — he’d practically be left with cents if he asked his parents to pay. He couldn’t imagine how disappointed his parents would be in the fact that their son can’t even drive, let alone ride a bike correctly.

Donghyuck feels beads of sweat drip down the side of his forehead. “I —”

“— What’s going on here? Hyuck, are you okay?”

And there he was, his savior in a dull orange hoodie running up to the scene with Jeno in tow. Both looked equally worried, but Mark chose to deal with Yukhei while Jeno helped Donghyuck stand up.

“Xuxi?” Mark looks confused. “What’s going on?”

It hits Donghyuck that Yukhei and Mark were same year friends, and in many of the same classes. He smiles in anticipation, thinking that maybe Yukhei and Mark’s friendship could help Donghyuck’s case. Kind of like a friends and family discount at the store.

However, all hopes of being spared go out the window as Yukhei vaguely gestures to Donghyuck, still looking quite angry. “Your friend here ran his bike into my car!”

Mark looks over expectedly at Donghyuck. He didn’t appear to be disappointed, the glint in his eyes seemed more like he was amused, if anything. Mark quickly gives Donghyuck an “I told you so” sort of look, before leaning in to whisper something to Yukhei. The angry boy seems to calm down slightly with Mark’s words and with Yukhei’s shoulders not looking extremely tense, Donghyuck himself felt extraordinarily relieved.

Yukhei turns to Donghyuck, glaring at him with only a mild look of annoyance. He points his index finger at Donghyuck accusingly. “For _now_ , this is over.” But seeing the dread in Donghyuck’s eyes seemingly causes Yukhei to retract his blunt tone, his own eyes now cast to the floor in apology. “Sorry for yelling at you. I’m gonna get to class, feel better.”

And just like that, there were three.

Mark turns to Donghyuck. “Are you okay? All those jokes I made early were only supposed to be jokes,” He chuckles nervously, tugging at the hoodie on his sweater. “I feel like I jinxed you, or something.”

“It’s my fault, don’t worry. I could’ve sworn the bike takes were on this side, and I guess I ran into his car.” Donghyuck explains in embarrassment, before reaching out to retrieve his book bag from Jeno’s extending grasp. “What’d you tell him, anyway? Why’d he get calm so quick? Because I swear I thought he was going to lunge at me, or something.”

Mark shrugs, avoiding Donghyuck’s gaze. “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s nothing. Xuxi‘s been a little ticked off lately, he probably didn’t mean to get so.. angry? I guess?”

Donghyuck doesn’t know Yukhei enough to disagree, so he nods compliantly.

“Let’s go inside,” Jeno suggests, bright as ever despite the disorder. “We’re early enough, so I think they might still have coffee milk in the cafeteria.”

Aside from the morning’s Yukhei-car fiasco, he first day passes by without any mayhem. Nothing particularly eventful happened, the first few classes of the year always went over pretty smoothly. Similarly, the rest of the first week goes by with little turmoil as well. The weekend after the first week of school was spent cleaning out his room, mostly. His parents had worked him out with the request of finding old boxes of clothes to give away, which lead to Donghyuck’s room looking torn up by the end of the weekend. On Sunday night, he desperately wanted to take the next day off, but deep down he knew he wouldn’t — and rightfully shouldn’t, with all that would start that week.

So that second Monday morning, Donghyuck falls into the day to day routine of linking up with Mark, then heading over with him to pick up Jeno. After the tiny accident with the car on the first morning, Donghyuck conceded all ideas of riding his bike to school every morning and now tagged along with Mark and Jeno, as he was meant to be.

The second week of school was when everything decided to swing into first gear.  
Going over the syllabuses and assigning desks were no longer of significance. Now every teacher’s main plan was to give out the year’s first quiz and homework grades. Clubs and sports also began, and with Jeno on dance team and Mark on the hockey team, Donghyuck felt pretty lonely as he waited for all the clubs that he usually joined to start.

Mark usually had a different schedule from Donghyuck, being in a grade up and all, but this year Jeno’s class arrangement bore pretty much no resemblance to Donghyuck’s. So that’s how he ended up alone on a Friday afternoon with the empty study hall as his last period class, cooped up in the corner of the library as he read over the day’s chapter in his history textbook. Admittingly he would much rather be in a class with his friends, but for now he wouldn’t complain about the fact that he essentially had to the library to himself for a whole hour.

One could imagine Donghyuck’s frustration when another student pulled up a seat at his table. With all the tables and seats that were available, someone just _had_ to sit next to Donghyuck? He assumed that maybe if he didn’t address the person, they’d realize Donghyuck was busy and either stay silent or move to a different table. However, he felt an invading stare practically searing through him, and he couldn’t focus on anything else. Huffing, he placed his book down to glower at the stranger.

“Can I _help_ you —” Donghyuck stopped speaking midway through the sentence, dropping the attitude as soon as he saw who exactly was at the table with him.

With his luck, it was none other but senior Wong Yukhei. This is the first time Donghyuck had ever been completely alone with him, because truthfully their paths did not cross often. In any other case, he’d have no qualms about boldly asking Yukhei what he wanted. But after the whole bike incident, Donghyuck knew he was on tricky ice with the older boy. It had been a whole week since, and Donghyuck hadn’t given Yukhei a cent. He was scared that he’d suddenly be hit with the receipt for the expensive car repair, and he’d be in Yukhei’s debt for life.

“Oh.. hi Yukhei? How are you?” He’s chuckling nervously. “How’s your car?”

Yukhei didn’t look even the tiniest bit amused as he gazed into Donghyuck’s eyes. He ignores the question regarding the car, seeming determined to ask whatever else was on his mind. “Can I ask you something?”

Donghyuck’s confused. “Yeah?”

“Do you.. really think I’m a self entitled pretty boy? That the entire school misjudged liking me so quickly?”

“What?” Donghyuck knew he must’ve appeared utterly confused, shaking his head in response to every word that came out of Yukhei’s mouth. In his whole 17 years of life, Donghyuck couldn’t ever recall a time where he’d ever called Yukhei a self entitled pretty boy. Sure, he wasn’t Donghyuck’s favorite person but he wasn’t ever disrespectful towards Yukhei. “I’ve never said that. Ever. I swear.”

Yukhei seemed dubious in lieu of Donghyuck’s reply. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Yukhei holds his index finger up in a way to tell Donghyuck to hold on and leans over the chair arm to unzip his backpack. Donghyuck watches in bewilderment as Yukhei searched for something in his bag. Abruptly, Yukhei’s fingers are clasped tightly around a baby blue envelope that seemed so vaguely familiar to Donghyuck, that he was genuinely taken aback.

Until it swiftly hit Donghyuck. It’s said that when something completely unexpected happens, a person is usually side swept for a good minute or so. Donghyuck had never quite felt that feeling before, but as Yukhei holds the letter that was addressed to him, he felt absolutely helpless. The best way he thinks he could describe it is in that exact moment, his world stopped for just the briefest second. The letter was undoubtedly from Donghyuck, written in his distinguishable handwriting. And if it truly couldn’t have gotten any worse, he couldn’t have denied that it was from him because he distinctly remembers signing his name at the very bottom of the confession.

Yukhei’s staring. “This is.. from you? Isn’t it?”

This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening. Donghyuck’s absolute worst fear had somehow managed to come true.

The letters had gotten out.

* * *

_Dear Yukhei,_

_There are a lot of things that I’ve told myself I would never do. In fact, MAYBE you’d believe me when I say I have a list full of the things I absolutely 109% swore I would never ever do. I’ll let you in on one of these things, though: I told myself I’d never write a letter to an undeserving pretty boy. Because that’s what you are, a really really pretty guy._

_And fine! I’ll admit that when you transferred here from China, maybe seeing you for the first time had made my heart thump in a way it hadn’t ever done before. There was always something intriguing about transfer students and how they exuded mystery as they walked down the hallway, commanding all eyes on them. You were no exception to this, but instead you exceeded it. You looked statuesque, walking through the hallway on that beautiful fall day._

_You had the most smooth looking hair, the prettiest brown eyes, and this million dollar smile that made me unable to look away even from across the room. But I wasn’t the only one who was captivated by you, soon the whole school was. And sure, you were in a few of my classes and yeah, we were paired up for some labs sometimes._

_But you know what, Yukhei? There’s something different about boys like you. I don’t ever really have a chance with self entitled pretty boys._

_You stare at yourself in the mirror fifty times a day, you even carry that ridiculously obnoxious silver hand mirror with you to all your classes. Come on, how could you forget your textbook but not your mirror?_

_And everyone loves you! The whole school has fallen for your charming spell, and the thing is that you know that. How could everyone not fall for you. You’re easily the most handsome boy in the grade, maybe one of the most handsome in the entire school! If I hadn’t known you, I would’ve assumed you were a model. You’re funny, and you’re good at everything you even attempt. You could think you did a terrible job, and chances are you probably did better than anyone else._

_You’ll never read this, so essentially this doesn’t matter. My logic probably doesn’t make sense, but all I know is that I would never give my heart to a pretty, too perfect guy like you. I wish I could though, you always smell like the beach with your coconut lime scent. It’s really a plus._

_Sincerely (Not) Yours,_

_Lee Donghyuck_

* * *

Donghyuck felt an immense heat rise to his cheeks, and he was absolute certain he was as red as one could possibly get. His eyes zeroed in on the envelope Yukhei was holding. “C-Could I have that back?” He asked, but didn’t wait for an answer as he leaned forward to rip it from Yukhei’s grasp.

Donghyuck should’ve expected Yukhei to be much faster than him. As he reaches for the envelope, Yukhei pulls it back. He has a Cheshire grin on his face, looking absolutely pleased. “I’d love to give it back, but you kind of already addressed this to me. So.. I’m keeping it. It’s my property.”

“But this was never supposed to get sent out! You were never supposed to read this, let alone see or even know about it!”

Yukhei reclines in his seat, seemingly intrigued now. “Then how did I get this? Did you.. not send this out recently?”

“No! This has to be a total accident, a giant misunderstanding.”

Yukhei nods in understanding, surveying the empty room. “Alright. Explain it to me, then.”

“Huh?”

“If I’m apart of this misunderstanding, then I want to know what exactly went on. Why’d you write this, and why was it sent out? After calling me a self entitled pretty boy and damaging my car, this is the least you could do.” Yukhei’s look is challenging as he tilts his head, pursing his lips slightly. “Don’t you think?”

What a jerk, thought Donghyuck as he rolled up the sleeves on his sweater. He’s ready to explain, and he takes the deepest breath. “Fine. Every time I think that I have feelings for someone, I write them a letter. It’s supposed to be closure, an end to the feelings I had for the person. I write all about them, then put the letters in a shoebox in my closet.”

“So like.. a crush diary?”

“Something like that. They were merely for myself, for me to let out all the feelings I had and be done with it. They were never supposed to be sent out, I don’t know how they were..”

“And when did you write mine?”

“When you transferred freshman year. I never literally had a literal crush on you, I just found you absolutely adorable and.. I had to let my feelings out somewhere. We never talked or anything, so I figured it was okay.”

And Donghyuck could imagine how absurd this must’ve sounded to Yukhei. This boy that he rarely ever talked to penned him a long letter calling him names while also detailing how extremely gorgeous he was. Donghyuck must’ve appeared like the weirdest person alive, and that just heightened the embarrassment.

“Fair enough,” shrugs Yukhei. Oddly enough, the boy moves closer to Donghyuck, the side of the table cutting into Yukhei’s stomach as he leaned towards him. This was a similar position to last week when Yukhei got leaked into him as he threatened Donghyuck to pray his car wasn’t damaged. If it was not already wild enough that they had interacted twice in one week, the circumstances were always somewhat weird?

“You know, I’m glad you didn’t freak out. I was hoping you wouldn’t think of me as some weirdo or anything. If I were in your case, I would've made it a much bigger deal.”

“I wouldn’t ever call someone’s feelings weird. Now, it was a little random coming from you in particular? We don’t talk much and the few times we did, I always thought you didn’t like me or something. And the self entitled ‘ _I only look in the mirror_ ’ pretty boy description kind of hurt, but..” His sentence trails off, before a bittersweet smile spreads across his lips. “What can I do if that’s what people think of me?”

Donghyuck was ready to apologize, to take back the words that had already been etched into Yukhei’s mind. He had never wanted anyone to be bothered by his letters, and to think that Yukhei felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable after reading made Donghyuck feel extremely sorry. But before Donghyuck had the chance to even attempt to mend the woes, the ending bell rang loudly against the dense walls of the school library.

Yukhei had little to nothing to recollect, so he swung his book bag over his shoulder and turned to head towards the exit.

“Wait, Yukhei, _hold on_!” Donghyuck packs all his items in his bag as fast as he possibly could, completely disregarding neatness. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, I didn’t mean to.”

And he gives Donghyuck a genuine smile, casually patting the younger boy’s shoulder. Yukhei seemed unruffled by the situation at this point, and Donghyuck sincerely hopes there was no underlying animosity between the two. “It’s fine. I’m going to forget everything about the letter except how you called me a statuesque model. And pretty. I take those to heart in a good way.” When Donghyuck wasn’t sure what to say, Yukhei took it as his leave. “Have a good weekend, Donghyuck.”

Without Yukhei’s presence, Donghyuck was left alone with all the books and his wandering thoughts. As a distraction, Yukhei had relieved Donghyuck of the embarrassment temporarily. But now he had all the time in the world to try and wrap his mind around the situation. Yukhei’s letter had definitely gotten out, but did that necessarily mean Mark, Jeno, Renjun, and Jaemin got theirs?

Mark. Donghyuck’s stomach drops at the thought of Mark actually physically receiving the letter he had written him. His cheeks flame at the at the thought of Mark reading all the praises Donghyuck had written him.

He had to get home and sort this out.

Donghyuck exits the library with no hesitation after the thought entered his conscience, mindlessly pushing past students in the hallway with no regard. He dashed past Mark’s locker, thankful that the boy nor Jeno were nowhere to be found. Donghyuck escapes flawlessly, reaching the outside of the school with no problem. Until it hit him that Mark had been the one who drove him to school this morning. Even if he hadn’t seen his letter, Donghyuck wasn’t sure if he could sit next to his best friend with the possibility of his confession sitting in Mark’s mailbox.

Donghyuck looked around the parking lot aimlessly, trying to see if there was anyone who could possibly give him a lift home. And when Donghyuck sees someone, he takes off running.

“Yukhei! Yukhei!”

Midway through opening the door of his cherry red convertible, Yukhei turns at the sound of his name being called. Yukhei seems confused though, probably not ever assuming to see Donghyuck so soon.

“Hi, Haechan!”

“Haechan?” Donghyuck pauses, eyebrow raised. “You know, nobody really calls me that? Most of my friends call me Donghyuck.”

“And nobody calls me Yukhei, except my parents. But for some reason.. you do?” He leans against his car, arms folded. “How about you call me.. Xuxi?”

Donghyuck is flabbergasted. “We talk twice in the span of a week and suddenly I should call you Xuxi like we’re friends, or something?”

“You say that all so boldly, as if you didn’t write me a whole love letter about my pretty hair.” Donghyuck has no real comeback for this, so he stayed tight-lipped. Yukhei realizes Donghyuck’s silence and grins widely, his pearly whites glowing in the bright sunlight. “I’m just joking with you, I’d write about my hair too if I wasn’t myself. Anyway, what’s wrong, why’d you come up to me? Did you suddenly.. need to confess your undying love for me?”

Donghyuck stares, quiet.

A cough. “Sorry. Okay really, what’s up?”

“I need a ride home.”

Yukhei tries his best Donghyuck impression. “And I’m supposed to give you a ride home, like we’re friends or something?”

“Xuxi, please?” And Donghyuck does the state that makes all his friends succumb to him in times of need, jutting his bottom lip out slightly and giving puppy eyes. He didn’t necessarily think it would work with Yukhei, but he also didn’t expect for the lightest of blushes to appear on the senior student’s cheeks. Yukhei shyly glances into the car, as if to regain his calm-cool composure, before looking up at Donghyuck again with his cheeks back to normal color. It was as if Donghyuck had imagined the blush, and perhaps he had.

Why would Wong Yukhei blush because of him, anyway?

“Get in the car, Donghyuck.”

Sighing in relief, Donghyuck opens the car door and hastily jumps in. Yukhei does as well, buckling his seatbelt as well as reminding Donghyuck to. He pulls out of the lot with ease, cruising down the main road. Donghyuck is pleasantly surprised, not expecting Yukhei to be such a smooth driver. He recognizes that Yukhei keeps defying the expectations Donghyuck had unjustly set for him.

“So, why’d you suddenly need a ride home? Doesn’t Mark usually drive you home?” asks Yukhei, a good few minutes into the drive.

“Well..” Donghyuck stalled for the slightest moment, eyes skimming through the intensely hued buildings that lined up the main street of their town. He wistfully glanced over the people walking without a care, shopping bags and smoothies in hand. Others swapped bags and smoothies for holding hands instead, and Donghyuck sighed a little bit too loudly. They were at a red light, and Yukhei was now interestingly staring at him. Donghyuck wondered whether or not to tell him the truth. On one hand, building any sort of friendship with someone starts with being nice and truthful with them; but on the other hand, did he really care about being friends with Yukhei? He made a quick decision. “You remember the whole letter situation?”

Yukhei cackled, rolling his eyes playfully. “Yes, how could I forget?”

“Shut up,” mumbled Donghyuck. “Anyway, besides you, four other boys got letters. And one of them is Mark. I don’t think he got his delivered yet, but just because there’s a chance of it I don’t really want to ride in the car with him.”

Yukhei gasps in mock outrage, holding his free hand over his heart and clutching painfully. “So, you’re telling me I’m not the other boy who got a letter? Wow, Donghyuck, you sure know how to make a boy feel special.”

“I told you, yours was simply a lapse in judgement on my part! I shouldn’t have ever written yours. I think I could’ve lived without ranting about your amazing good looks.”

“And my coconut-lime hair!”

“Yes, that too,” sighs Donghyuck. “But Mark’s letter was entirely real. I got so deep in my feelings writing it, I just poured my whole heart out in words. It’s not just embarrassing that I had these feelings about someone else, it’s just the icing on the cake that it was about my best friend.”

Yukhei is quiet, contemplative for half a second. “Before I give you any sort of advice. Could you tell me how to get to your house? I don’t want to get lost.” The next few minutes serves as Donghyuck acting as a makeshift GPS, guiding Yukhei through the packed streets to get to his house. They were there in no time, surprisingly, and Yukhei pulls into Donghyuck’s driveway so it was easy for the boy to get in quickly. “Door to door service, huh? Could you get any better than this?”

“I think I could get much better than this. But, for your sake, I’ll pretend you were the nicest and most considerate driver I’ve ever had,” Donghyuck finds himself genuinely smiling at Yukhei, before reaching into his bag in his lap and retrieving a 10 dollar bill. He holds it out for Yukhei to grasp, wiggling it when he realizes that the other boy is simply staring at with no real reaction. “Take it?”

Yukhei deadpans. “I never asked for your money, Donghyuck.”

“Yeah, but you wasted gas to drive me in the opposite direction of your house. At least take it, use it for gas or some date you’ll probably go on at some point.”

Hesitatingly, Yukhei’s fingers curl around the dollar bill Donghyuck was offering to him, slowly pulling it back. Donghyuck smiles in satisfaction, but the feeling disappears as his breath hitches in his throat. Yukhei’s body is tilting towards his own, slowly, almost tantalizingly. The money is tucked back into the front pocket of Donghyuck’s jean jacket by the other boy. “I said, I don’t want your money,” Yukhei whispers, his breath cool by Hyuck’s face, before reclining back in his seat. “Also! I like your jacket. It’s very.. Retro? Very vintage. It’s cool, I like it.”

Donghyuck’s mind is cloudy, so he nods absentmindedly at the compliment. “T-Thank you?”

“You’re welcome!”

“I should head back inside, figure this whole letter thing out.” Donghyuck gathers his bookbag, slinging it over his shoulder before stepping out of the car cautiously. “Thank you, really. For driving me home, and everything. This was really nice of you, and I appreciate it.”

“Just doing my civil duty,” smiles Yukhei, beginning to pull out from the driveway. “I hope you can sort it all out, Donghyuck! Good luck!” Donghyuck doesn’t get to reply because before he could, the cherry red convertible is already too far down the street.

Now that Donghyuck was alone in the safety of his own house, he dashes up the steps to his room. Donghyuck was hoping that by some freak incident, Yukhei’s letter was the only one that escaped the box and the other four were still sealed inside the ever secure ribbon-tied shoebox. That scenario, of course, was in an ideal world. Donghyuck’s realistic scenario is that he’d come up to his room, searching for his shoebox frantically only to eventually uncover it with none of the letters inside.

The truth isn’t much further than what Donghyuck’s mind had conjured up. He swings open the door to his bedroom, running around chaotically as he searched for the box. His room was still the slightest bit messy from the past weekend’s clean up session, and Donghyuck ransacked his closets and lifted every strewn sweater to see if what he was seeking was underneath. After all the scouring, Donghyuck fell flat on his bed and stared up at the ceiling in absolute agony. He had no idea where the box could be, if not in his room.

Struck with an idea, Donghyuck lifts himself up and heads downstairs to his living room. The weekend clean up had lead to some items being donated, and he vaguely remembers his parents saying they’d go into his room and gather the items Donghyuck had put aside. Could the box have gotten mixed up, and the letters sent out by accident? His parents were lounging, watching an old movie on the couch. Not wanting to be too disruptive, he asked if either had seen the box.

His body tensed when his father replied that they had found the box on the floor, and upon opening it and seeing already addressed letters, they sent them out for him. His parents were smiling, assuming this was a good occurrence. The box, they said, had been thrown out afterwards because it accidentally broke. His parents apologized for that only, and Donghyuck excuses himself back to room, not sure how to take the news he had already braced himself for.

Lee Jeno, Huang Renjun, Na Jaemin, and Mark Lee were all about to get letters that could very well alter the way they felt towards Donghyuck. Not prepared for the possible impending change, he covers himself with a blanket.

Throughout the creeping bliss of sleep, he can feel his phone vibrate several times in his pocket. All he does is shut it off.

* * *

 **[3:05 PM]** **from Mark:** Hyuck??? I didn’t see you at dismissal.. Did you get home okay?

 **[3:35 PM] from Mark:** Okay so your mom said you got home okay. Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?  
**[5:56 PM] from Mark:** :(

 **[11:23 PM]** **from Mark:** We need to talk. ASAP. Please text me back.

* * *

Donghyuck spends the entire weekend avoiding both Mark and Jeno. To a lesser degree, Jeno’s letter was less embarrassing considering his was the first. There wasn’t much to it, and really, it could be taken as more if a platonic kind of admiration if one didn’t know of Donghyuck’s history of crushes. That didn’t mean that Donghyuck necessarily wanted to address it, but Jeno wasn’t the issue here. Mark was, but the three usually came as a package deal — Jeno didn’t go anywhere without Donghyuck, and the two additionally didn’t go anywhere without Mark. That was how it had been since they were younger, and they had simply stuck to it.

So Donghyuck stayed inside, feigning some sort of silly stomach bug as an excuse for the lapse in conversation with his friends. Sure, he felt bad for lying, but he justified it by telling himself this was all so he could stay in and mentally prepare himself for school Monday. He’d have to face his friends at some point, and he anticipated that the explanation of the weekend’s events would be quite embarrassing.

What he _didn’t_ expect, though, was a text late Sunday night from an unsaved number.

 **[11:34 PM] from Unknown:** Do you need a ride to school tomorrow?

 **[11:35 PM] from Donghyuck:** …..who is this and why do you have my number?

 **[11:37 PM] from Unknown:** do you really not have my number saved or is this a joke?  
**[11:38 PM] from Unknown:** it’s Yukhei.

_Oh?_

**[11:39 PM] from Donghyuck:** HELLO YUKHEI.

 **[11:41 PM] from Yukhei:** hi  
**[11:41 PM] from Yukhei:** so do you need a ride?

 **[11:42 PM] from Donghyuck:** A ride would be….. nice.  
**[11:42 PM] from Donghyuck:** Only if you let me pay you this time. I felt bad for Friday.

 **[11:44 PM] from Yukhei:** No.  
**[11:45 PM] from Yukhei:** ANYWAY I’m going to bed. I’ll pick you up at 7:30.

Donghyuck stares at the screen, completely dumbfounded. He wasn’t sure what to reply, because the whole situation was absurd. Yukhei? Taking him to school?

 **[11:46 PM] from Donghyuck:** Thank you Yukhei.. Good night!

* * *

Donghyuck woke up to a fierce debate on what to wear for school. He hadn’t planned out anything last night, due to being so utterly distracted over the whole letter epidemic. He genuinely had spent as much of the day as he could cooped up his room with assorted snacks and homework sheets out in a vicious attempt to distract himself from the shambles that would be his friendships. That meant he didn’t pack his book bag, lay out fresh clothes, or read ahead in history.

But this morning, Donghyuck didn’t have the luxury to saunter around his closet and ponder if he should wear the crew neck hoodie or the white turtleneck. Yukhei was coming to get him, and considering the whole ride offer was off enough, Donghyuck didn’t want to keep the senior waiting.

( _Also Yukhei was picking him up 10 minutes earlier than Mark usually does, and Donghyuck hoped to avoid any confrontation with Mark for as long as humanly possible_ )

So he decided to end the impending question of what the day’s outfit would be when he impulsively decided on the white turtleneck, with the faded wash denim jeans that he adored so much. Without being too aggressive his clothing choices, Donghyuck tugged everything on as fast as he possibly could, giving himself a quick once over in his wall mirror before grabbing his bag and heading downstairs. It was 7:15, fifteen minutes earlier than Yukhei had told him that he’d pick him up. Donghyuck figured that the older boy would probably roll up to his house later rather than earlier, so he went to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat for breakfast.

He laid his phone down face up on the counter, opening the fridge and surveying it for anything worthy of consumption. Realizing in that exact moment that his appetite was barely present, he decided on eating an apple instead. As he went to finish washing and cutting the fruit, his phone beings to irritatingly vibrate. Confused, he sets his breakfast down on a napkin, picking his phone up. Surprisingly enough, it was Yukhei.

“Hello?”

“Good morning!” Yukhei’s voice was loud even in the morning, but that came to no surprise.

Was he really here this early? Instead of asking, Donghyuck inches closer to the window to look outside. Yukhei’s car was nowhere in sight. “Are you outside?”

“Um.. no, I’m not outside. I just called to ask you if you — _wait, hold on_ ,” Yukhei sounded muffled on the opposite end, and all Donghyuck could hear were practically inaudible _thank you’s_ and have a _good day’s_. “Sorry, the coffee shop was really really busy.”

“Well it is early. That’s kind of like.. peak coffee shop hours.”

“I should’ve gone earlier, that was my bad. I just called to ask if you still liked caramel lattes? I uh.. got you breakfast, in case you were hungry,” Donghyuck could hear the transition from the wind whistling outside to the quiet confinement of the car as Yukhei’s car door opens and closes. “I know I’m getting you pretty early, so I figured I’d get you something to make up for it.”

Donghyuck stares at his partially cut up apple critically. Despite not initially being hungry, Yukhei’s mention of a caramel latte and a pastry from the nearby coffee shop sounded made Donghyuck’s stomach grumble in hunger. “You didn’t have to do that.” He said, beginning to wrap the apple up and stash it in his book bag. _For later_ , he supposes.

“But I wanted to. Doesn’t coffee sound really amazing so early in the morning? That, plus me literally sitting next to you and driving you to school.. Wow. Doesn’t it make you feel _inspired_?”

“The coffee definitely. Now you, on the other hand.. Can’t say I’m too sure.”

“I’m picking you up and bringing you breakfast and this is the type of treatment I get? Maybe I should just not get you. I could just turn around and go to school right now, I think I’d actually be early for once.”

The playfulness of Yukhei’s tone gave away any fear that was intended to be instilled in Donghyuck, but either way he found himself scrambling to apologize.

Yukhei simply brushed the apology off, proceeding to inform Donghyuck that he was outside. Hyuck was prompt in grabbing his bag and heading towards the exit, yet cautious as he pushed open the door and peered out. Donghyuck’s mind had logically put together that he’d see Mark and Jeno at some point throughout the day, however he still wanted to put off the confrontation for as long as humanly possible. After confirming that the coast was clear, he made a run for Yukhei’s car.

“Good morning!” Yukhei waved as he saw Donghyuck in the distance.

Donghyuck has raced out with an impressive amount of speed but upon standing in front of Yukhei, he froze up. The sunshine was radiantly beaming on his face, but nothing could rival the beautiful smile spread across the boy’s lips. He wore a shirt with material the color of azure blue, and sweats with a matching stripe down the sides, but he somehow managed to look like the most handsome boy Donghyuck had ever laid his eyes on. He was gaping, and Yukhei was grinning.

“Get in the car, shy guy! We don’t have all morning.” He patted the seat next to him, and once Donghyuck was taken away from his absorption in Yukhei’s visuals, he wasted no time in sliding into the car.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

Yukhei backed the car out of the spot he had parked in, and the two were on their way! “It’s okay, I know you’re just captivated by my pretty boy looks. Your intense staring from now on is excused.”

Donghyuck chewed on his cheek silently, contemplating Yukhei’s words. “It’s a curse that you read that letter, huh?”

“I’m never gonna let you live it down!”

“Great.”

“But see, without the letter we wouldn’t be in the car and having coffee together! So maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing.” They pulled up to a red light, and Yukhei hands Donghyuck’s coffee to him. “This is yours. Hot caramel latte, heavy on the caramel drizzle. Right?”

“Yeah..” Donghyuck graciously accepts the coffee from Yukhei’s hands, holding it between in his hands with the paws of his sweater sleeves as protection from the heat. As he was about to take a sip, he lowers the coffee from his lips, holding it between his sweaters paws again. “How’d you know I drink this?”

The light was especially lengthy, and Yukhei has the luxury of time to look over at Donghyuck. The eye contact was brief, but Yukhei avoided the other boy’s eyes. “I remember you mentioning it during one of those ice breaker sessions when I transferred.”

Donghyuck racks his mind for any memory of the ice breaker session. It takes him a few extra seconds before the recollection comes to him.

_He remembers the day three years ago, There were balloons everywhere in the large auditorium, with colorful **WELCOME TRANSFERS** banners hung up on almost all the walls. The so called “ice breaker” session took place a week or two after Donghyuck’s sophomore year started, and it was his first year helping out with the transfer mixer. He had volunteered mainly because Mark and Jeno had done so, and the two badgered him to come along. Donghyuck so desperately wanted to see Mark in the cute yellow and black zip up jacket that the school ambassadors had to wear that he said yes without his friends having to ask twice._

_Fate had been against them that night, and while Mark was on tour duty, Donghyuck had been chosen to lead a group of transfers through some fun and stimulating discussion. He remembers sitting criss-crossed on the floor with the batch of relatively new faces. They were peering at him with doe eyes, unsure of what to do or say._

_Except Yukhei. He had been confident since about the moment he initially strolled through the school’s hallway. He would be the first one to answer questions that night, never backing down to Donghyuck’s questions. Eventually the conversation became lively, with the transfer sneaking out of their shells to answer questions. Donghyuck faintly does remember mentioning something about caramel lattes being his favorite caffeine drink, after one of the transfers retorted back and asked him a question rather than vice versa. Even then it was a pretty trivial comment, not expected to be remembered years later._

“That was almost two years ago! You.. remember that? Really?”

The red tint that creeped up to Yukhei’s face was gradual, but in the blinding sunlight it was as noticeable as ever. There was no possible way to hide it, and Donghyuck is sure that Yukhei could feel his eyes boring into him as he awaited an answer. The driver shifts in his seat awkwardly before replying. “I know it was,” he grumbled. “Listen, it’s not a big deal okay? It’s one of the only things I even remember about you, so that’s why I bought it. Don’t look into it that much.”

Ouch? The brutal honesty left a sour taste in Hyuck’s mouth, similar to how his tongue burned as he took a sip of the hot coffee to distract his mind. He hopes Yukhei didn’t notice his sudden flinch — from both the coffee, and the harsh comment — as he returns the coffee to its holder and sits stationary in the passenger seat. He stares out the window for the remaining duration of the car ride, and silently collects his things when Yukhei pulls into his designated spot at school.

“Donghyuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so mean, I’m sorry.” Yukhei calls out to Hyuck as he begins to walk away, the senior seeming apologetic as he still sat buckled in the car.

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have expected you to remember anything about me, anyway,” The bite of the words was present in Hyuck’s mind, but the sentence came out completely lacking all edge. He shakes the coffee cup and thin, waxy brown bag in Yukhei’s direction. “Thanks for breakfast — and the ride. Have a good day, I guess.“

Even as the distance grows further and further from the car, Yukhei calls his name out sorely. Hyuck doesn’t bother himself to stop walking as he pushes past the two double doors, making a beeline straight for his locker. It’s as if his mind completely lost track of why exactly he was here at school so early, transported by Wong Yukhei himself. Hyuck stands with his locker door wide open, placing his books in with no qualms about anything at all.

His peaceful morning all halts to an unexpected stop when Donghyuck heard his name being yelled out from across the hall. His head turns slowly to the left, however he didn’t get to give his full attention to whoever it was calling him because he swears he could hear his name from down the hall on the right. Already halfway, Hyuck’s head turns to the sound that appeared to be closer. He audibly gasps as Mark Lee comes towards him from the left side of the hall. Even from the distance, a pale yellow letter sealed with a bright red and green watermelon sticker was visibly in his hand.

A train wreck feeling of deja vu hit Donghyuck. This was all reminiscent of the confrontation over the letter he had with Yukhei only three days prior; except this time, the emotions of embarrassment and hollowness were heightened to the max. It only took Mark a few seconds to reach him, but to Donghyuck it had felt like a millennia and one had passed. They had already made eye contact, and there was nothing Donghyuck could really do except stand there and desperately wish for the best.

In that moment, hopes of being more with Mark had no place in Donghyuck’s mind any longer. All he wanted was a salvaged friendship, he didn’t want the years they’d spent together to go to waste over an extremely heartfelt and honest letter written due to enhanced feelings of affection coming to an all time high one midnight years ago.

“I’ve been trying to text you all weekend. Did you just.. not see my texts? Your parents told me you were sick and that I couldn’t see you,” Mark’s voice didn’t contain the usual goofy, pep sound. He appeared distressed, uneasy. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. I’m fine, don’t worry.” Donghyuck was curt, an essentially empty reply tumbling past his lips. He picked his book bag up off the floor, holding it in front of him as a mean of creating distance. “Maybe you shouldn’t stand next to me so you don’t get sick or anything. You have practice or something later I’m sure?”

This is all nerves, and Donghyuck knows that Mark can tell. They’ve known each other for years, even now Donghyuck isn’t sure why he thinks that Mark wouldn’t be able to tell just how skittish he was acting around him. Mark wasn’t speaking, his eyes impossibly trained on Donghyuck’s like he was trying to memorize every bit of his face for the last time.

“Hyuck, you know I don’t care if you’re sick. When has that ever mattered? You look really really sick, let me carry your bag,” Mark reaches out for his best friend’s shoulder, but before his fingers could even get a firm grip, Hyuck jerks in the opposite direction. Mark’s eyes widen slightly, flashing in a mixture of disbelief and hurt. Mark’s lips were parted slightly, as if he couldn’t quite believe his friend’s actions. Hyuck had really recoiled from Mark, as if they were strangers. “This is about the letter, isn’t it? You’re probably not even sick, you’re just acting weird because I saw this.”

Donghyuck eyes flicker to the envelope clutched between Mark’s spindly fingers. It was indisputably Donghyuck’s handwriting, and even the stickers were ones he had bought in Mark’s presence. Hyuck roughly remembers showing the sticker sheet to him with a wide smile on his face, and immediately buying them after seeing the look of happiness on Mark’s face at the haphazardly cut sparkly watermelon stickers. He used almost a whole sheet the night he had decided to write Mark’s letters, decorating the face of the envelope and the letter inside with the brightly colored watermelons. The amount of stickers used was almost as embarrassing as the tiny folded up paper inside, filled with paragraphs and paragraphs of sappy sentences and lengthy misused metaphors of devotion. Donghyuck realizes that Mark really read all of it, and knowing his best friend he probably read it once then an additional two or three times to really understand what was going on. Hyuck’s head is banging with a headache, and he asks an obvious question. “Did you read it?”

“Well, when a letter addressed to me from my best friend who lives on practically the same street is delivered to me, of course I’d read it! What was I supposed to do, not read it?” Yes. “How long ago did you write this? How long have you,” His voice dropped lower as if it was a precaution, and he glanced around anxiously. “Liked me?”

In addition to the pounding headache affecting his thoughts severely, his stomach turns upside down at the way Mark was so apprehensive talking to him. The nervous peeks around the hallway, the lowering of the voice; it was almost as if Mark was ashamed of anyone hearing that he liked him, or at least that's how Hyuck’s mind was interpreting it. “Don’t worry about it, Mark, really,” Donghyuck’s voice cracks, and he feels the tears welling up in his eyes. “I-It was a while ago. You were never s-supposed to get that l-letter, I’m not sure how it got sent to you.”

He looks suspicious. “So you didn’t send it to me on purpose?”

“No! O-Of course not!” It comes out louder than expected, and Donghyuck mentally curses his traitorously beating heart for getting ahead of itself and making him get so agitated. “Can we just forget about this, please?”

“How am I supposed to forget this? This is a big deal. You just compared my eyes to stars —”

Mark is interrupted then, his sentence cut short as his eyes caught sight of a looming presence. Donghyuck isn’t sure how the next few moments go exactly — genuinely, it’s all blurry in his mind. Hyuck remembers an arm coiling itself around his shoulder, and pulling his lithe body towards a much taller and sturdy one. The familiar coconut lime scent mingled with the slightly bitter aroma of an iced americano, and something about Yukhei beside him in this moment felt much too comfortable. His mind silently whispered the senior’s name like a chant with no reprieve, _Yukhei Yukhei Yukhei_ —

“Oh! Hey, Mark,” The senior welcomes his fellow classmate warmly, as if Mark had been the one to barge in on the conversation and not Yukhei himself. He sips his iced americano obnoxiously, but Yukhei’s ear to ear grin cancels out all irritating behavior. “What’s going on, my man?”

Mark, at this point, seems incredibly annoyed. Maybe Mark was just an expert at controlling his emotion, or maybe the whole situation didn’t bother him all too much, because a tight lipped smile appears on his face as he turns to Yukhei. “Good, I’m good. Did you need something?”

“Actually, no,” Yukhei replies, making Mark raise his eyebrow in utter confusion. Donghyuck could feel Yukhei’s grip on his shoulder grow tighter, but he knew this was not the time nor the place to attempt to wiggle out of the boy’s compact embrace. ( _Maybe if this was a different situation, he would’ve, but something tells Donghyuck that Yukhei might just be his savior for the day_.) “I needed to talk to Donghyuck.”

“Well, we were kind of in a conversation, Xuxi. Maybe you could talk to him later —”

Donghyuck’s stress towards the whole situation hits the maximum, and his mind goes into survival mode. He could barely control his thoughts, let alone the words that passed through his lips. “We’re dating. Xuxi. And I. Dating.” The whole sentence comes out choppy, and Donghyuck feels like he could barely breathe correctly.

What did he just do?

Mark seems to have an exaggerated reaction, his eyes practically the size of saucers as they flicker incredulously between Yukhei, Donghyuck, and the lack of space between their body. As if Donghyuck’s excuse suddenly solved the equation for Mark of why his best friend and one of the most popular boys in school were squished against each other, he nods in what possibly could be described as acceptance. He still seems bewildered through, blatant in the confused look in his eyes. “Is this true? Are you guys really dating..?”

It’s only for a split second, but Donghyuck glances at Yukhei with a look of utterly complete desperation. As his eyes take sight of the older boy, he half expected for Yukhei to be staring him down angrily, or plotting to push Donghyuck down the stairs and making it appear like an “accident”.

But he wasn’t.

“Yeah, of course it’s true. That’s why I didn’t get mad when he bumped into my car last week.”

Mark narrows his eyes suspiciously at Yukhei, almost as if that confession bumped down the believability of the entire situation. “So why were you yelling at him after?”

“Well.. we weren’t going to tell anyone. I thought it’d be pretty silly of me if I didn’t act least pretend to act mad.” said Yukhei. In retaliation, Mark was getting just about ready to make another remark, but Yukhei beats him to it. “Mark, how about you just not get into my personal business? I know Donghyuck’s your best friend and all but this is something we’d like to figure out totally before we tell everyone else. If anything, consider yourself the first one to be let in on the secret.” He turns to Donghyuck’s locker door, taking it upon himself to shut it. “Let’s go, Hyuck,” ( _That was what Jeno and Mark usually called him, it felt odd coming from anyone else’s lips_.) “I’ll walk you to your first period.”

Donghyuck is dumbfounded as he sorely waves goodbye to Mark before Yukhei took captive of his right hand, dragging him down the hall in the opposite direction. There was no intimacy in the way they held hands, no intertwined fingers or sweaty palms. This was not how Donghyuck had envisioned the first time he’d hold hands would be, he assumed that he’d really feel something. He thought his heart would gradually begin to beat faster, perspiration growing on hands when fingers slowly laced together, maybe one of them would decide to cutely swing their hands up and down.

This was _not_ how it felt.

Yukhei tugged on Donghyuck’s hand, leading him up the stairs to his first period as if he was a rag doll. Others watch in awe as they head to the second floor, but others squeal in delight; Yukhei had never been linked to anyone here _in school_ since he transferred, so Donghyuck could assume it was a big deal as all eyes were on the two. The action itself though felt more urgent rather than romantic, the exigency paired with just how fast Yukhei was making him walk. It made the soles of Hyuck’s feet burn, cheeks flare in embarrassment, and he suddenly realized just how tight Yukhei’s grip was. 

“Why are we going so fast?” Donghyuck shouted, but his question went unanswered as Yukhei roughly pulled him into the nearest empty room. Donghyuck feels himself swallow hard as he watches the older boy shut the door and close the blinds. _This is it_ , he thinks to himself as he begins to mumble his prayers under his breath rapidly. And as Yukhei turns to walk back over to him, only after he knows they’re secure in this room, Hyuck thinks maybe he should’ve written a will. He could leave his vinyls to his little sister; maybe she’d enjoy the variety of music her older brother listened to. All his sweaters could go to Jeno, because he knew just how much he loved when Hyuck would lend him sweatshirts whenever he’d sleep over. As for the rest of his belongings..

“If you’re gonna do this, just.. don’t make it hurt too much. And don’t hit my face, please. I didn’t spend my whole life moisturizing and cleansing for one really tall boy to mess it up with gigantic calloused hands.” Donghyuck blurted out, as Yukhei was now less than an arm length away.

“What?” Yukhei was staring at Donghyuck as if he had two heads. He was the painting of utter confusion as his eyes darted from Donghyuck’s face, to his own hands. “You really know how to hurt a guy, huh? First I’m an annoying, self entitled pretty boy and now I’m a gigantic boy with calloused hands?”

“You were never supposed to know I called you that! We’ve talked about this!” Donghyuck whines, instinctively stomping his feet in a fit of anger. His shoulders level and he calms down after catching Yukhei’s blank stare. He mutters. “I don’t think you’re a self entitled pretty boy anymore. You’re not even that bad.”

It was silent.

“Why did you go along with what I said?”

“What was I supposed to do? Leave you there to die?” Yukhei scoffs, as if he was actually offended by the very thought. “What kind of person would I be then? You trusted me enough to tell me the story about the letters. I know you were scared to see Mark, so when I saw you talking to him..” The sentence trails off. “I thought maybe you needed a little saving. Was I right, or was I right?”

Thinking of the situation gave made Donghyuck’s head pound even harder, so much so that he could practically see stars. He rubs his eyes viciously, glaring at the boy after. “Shut up, Yukhei.”

He raises his eyebrow. “That’s an odd way of saying thank you, but it’s okay. You’re welcome, anyway.”

“What are we going to do now? Mark thinks we’re dating, and I’m sure a bunch of other people saw us walking through the halls holding hands. Even better, you dragged me into an empty classroom! So if anybody saw that, they definitely wouldn’t doubt it.. Why else would you drag me into an empty room?”

“Tutoring?” Yukhei cracks the joke while sporting the biggest grin, as if he was the funniest boy in the entire universe.

“Come on, this is serious, Yukhei,” Donghyuck punches Yukhei’s shoulder, but the older boy was laughing too much for the hit to seriously hurt or even cause damage. In frustration at just how funny the senior thought this was, Donghyuck continues. “What are we gonna do?”

“We’re gonna do this for a little while. This dating thing.” says Yukhei, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. Yukhei spoke to Donghyuck with such a casual air, that it made the younger stop for a moment and recollect his thoughts. He had to really pinch himself, just to see if this was all really happening. Maybe he was dreaming, and this was one of those virtual reality kind of things; he wasn’t sure why that would be the case, but that explanation made more sense than Wong Yukhei standing before him and telling him they were going to date a little while. Yukhei seems to realize that Donghyuck pinching himself, and his grin intensifies. “I know you probably can’t believe this. I’m such a catch and all. But, I’ll give up my senior year bachelor status for you. You specifically, Lee Donghyuck, as long as you want it.”

 _Pinch_.

“So you’re basically saying.. You want us to date for a little while? Seriously?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun!”

He couldn’t believe what Yukhei was saying. He thought this would be fun? Toying with Donghyuck’s feelings didn’t exactly seem like the best idea. There were so many things that he was hoping he’d experience once he was with someone who really liked him for him, the first _obviously_ being getting asked out and starting a relationship once there was a mutual admiration for each other. This was the first time he was ever genuinely getting asked out and it felt more like a joke than anything else.

Yukhei notices Donghyuck’s hesitance. “You were the one who said we were dating, why do you look like you’re contemplating one of life’s greatest secrets?”

“I said it as an immediate situation solution. I didn’t mean for you to take it so seriously, I just.. Blurted it out.”

“Of all the things to say..” Yukhei muses quietly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the sweatshirt he had on. He definitely wasn’t wearing that when he picked Donghyuck up. Maybe it was in his car? “You do realize though that what you told him would mean we’d have to do this? At least for a week or two. You don’t tell someone you’re dating at 7 AM then break up by 2 PM the same day.”

And Donghyuck hates to admit it out loud, so he doesn’t, but Yukhei has a point. There was no surefire way to avoid dating for at least a little bit. The web Donghyuck so ungracefully intertwined Yukhei and himself in was one that would take some effort to get out of.

Even though Donghyuck had already made a decision internally, Yukhei continues his hand at attempting to convince him further. If Donghyuck had been an outsider, he would have guessed that perhaps Yukhei wanted to go forward with this whole fake dating scenario more than Donghyuck did. But who would guess that Wong Xuxi wanted to date Lee Donghyuck, and not vice versa? Nobody. And surely, that wasn’t the case; it couldn’t have been the case. “Think about it. We date for a few weeks, rub it in Mark’s face a little,” The part regarding Mark hurt Donghyuck enough to make him cringe a little, and Yukhei noticed the discomfort due to the words, so he sped past it. “Then there’d be no way Mark would think you’re still interested in him. Especially if you were interested in me. You two could go back to being friends after that, problem solved!”

Agreeing to the whole plan was on the tip of Donghyuck’s tongue, until one crucial thought entered his mind. “This all helps me, sure, but what does this do for you? What are you gaining from this? Am I supposed to give you something? Pay you something?”

“Donghyuck, why are you so convinced I’m a bad person? I’m not asking you for anything, and as I’ve said before: I do not want your money, nor anything else from you. But, if me doing this essentially for free makes you uncomfortable, just consider all this payback from you bumping into and scratching my car.” He smiles, jocularly. “Your agony is what compensates me here, really.”

“Okay,” Donghyuck finds himself nodding too many times: maybe just to confirm to both Yukhei and himself that this was real, or to compensate for the undeniable hesitance he presented throughout the entire conversation. The thought alone was still pretty unbelievable to him because whether it be real or not, he'd be able to call someone his _boyfriend_ even if it was just for a designated moment in time. What maximized it was that Yukhei wasn't _just_ a popular boy, he was one of the handsome boys in the entire school. Hyuck would blush standing next to him, let alone holding his hand. In light of all this, he wasn't quite sure how this would work. Somehow though, he found himself agreeing as the words tumble off his tongue and pass his lips. “Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two will be posted.. soon? It’ll be depending on the feedback I get from this! +++ the Nomin will def be present next chapter!! They’ll be important :) Anyway ! Let me know if you guys enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Donghyuck, have you ever heard the saying ‘ _fake it till’ you make it?_ ’” Hyuck nods, because of course he's heard that saying. Everyone's said it at least once in their lives. Yukhei goes on. “We’re going to fake this until Mark is insanely jealous and the whole school votes us best couple."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm the love this fic has gotten so far makes me SUPER happy. thank you for the 1k reads!!!!!!!!!!!!! i extended the chapter count from 3 to 4, by the way :0 
> 
> UPDATE, 02/09/18: I updated a little bit of the second chapter, not much of a difference, however. I will post chapter three soon!!! 
> 
> without further ado, let’s get to chapter two!!!!

Donghyuck could not already believe the whirlwind of the day he was already having. From ( _somewhat_ ) confronting Mark, to starting a fake relationship Wong Yukhei, the morning had been extremely chaotic. Donghyuck and Yukhei had settled on discussing the specifics of what they’d be doing somewhere that wasn’t an empty classroom. So, walking apart this time, they both had gone to their first period classes and vowed to take the day as it came.

“You’re gonna be okay, right?” Yukhei had asked him, the boy’s lean back slightly turned as he walks in the opposite direction of the classroom he left Donghyuck at.

Donghyuck had scoffed loudly, the mere thought of him not being okay being extremely offensive. He flicked his hand, the gesture oozing with the pure confidence Donghyuck obtained. “Of course! It’ll be fine.”

Yukhei nods, and gave one of those smiles that indicated that he had faith in Hyuck. “Okay! Text me when you get out of last period, I’ll take you home.” After, Yukhei left and Donghyuck trudged to his first period.

He was slightly dreading seeing Jeno for the first time since the letter was sent. And surely, them being next door neighbors and all, by now he must have received his. Of all, Jeno’s was the least embarrassing. Donghyuck had been 12 when he penned it, simply rambling about how sparkly Jeno’s eyes were, and how Donghyuck felt so happy when he peeked out the window to see his neighbor feed the stray cats that lingered.

And _Jaemin_! Jaemin’s letter was more recent, and Donghyuck’s vocabulary had expanded vastly since the first letter at age twelve. The only class Hyuck has with both Jeno and Jaemin was first period, so if by chance the two somehow exchanged the information that they both received letters.. Hyuck could barely imagine how embarrassingly awkward the class would be. Especially considering how he knew Jeno was just about ready to ask Jaemin on a proper date. This would just paint Donghyuck as a relationship wrecker. As if that was exactly what he needed now, for his best friend to turn against him for more reasons than one! 

Every thought weighs unbearably on his mind as he drew nearer and nearer to the classroom. He watched as his fellow students mingled excitedly, entering and exiting without a care in the world. Donghyuck _so_ envies them.

He cautiously peers into his first period history class, pushing open the door before stepping in slowly. He thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to steal the seat of one of the absent students. Just to lie low until he really figured out how to address the whole letter situation. ( _Which was his supposed to be his course of action over the weekend, but he ended up really playing sick and sleeping._ )

“Hyuck!” His plan was foiled by a familiar, soft call of his name. Lee Jeno’s voice was just so soothing, the type that a person’s ear followed instantly. It was the voice that had lulled Hyuck to sleep on days gone wrong, or cheered him up after a failed test. When Donghyuck caught sight of his best friend, unmistakable in a bright blue polo, waving him over ecstatically, he knew he couldn’t deny him. He’d never been able to resist the _oh so smiley_ Lee Jeno. Reason number one why twelve year old Lee Donghyuck had decided his neighbor, and eventual best friend, would be the first object of his affection.

“Hi, Jen.” Hyuck greets shakily, sliding into his usual seat beside Jeno. Jaemin, who usually sits on Jeno's left, was nowhere to be seen. Donghyuck feels a prick of immense guilt for even considering the thought, but he couldn’t help but think how helpful Jaemin's absence was for him.

“Hi, Hyuck! I missed you, silly! I didn't hear from you all weekend," Instantly, Donghyuck notes that there seemed to be no change in dynamic. “But Mark told me you were sick? Which is why I guess you were MIA, right? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just a temporary 24 hour virus kind of thing! I’m okay now,” Donghyuck chews the side of his cheek anxiously as he leaned over to take out his notebook. It was as if Hyuck was waiting for the shoe to drop, for Jeno’s attitude towards him to change. He knows the only way to distract him from the situation at hand was to engross himself in a conversation with Jeno, which is what he proceeds to do, asking the boy how his _Donghyuck-free_ weekend was. 

Jeno's smile only grows wider, and initially, Donghyuck figures it's because of the joke. However, only when Jeno begins to describe the plans he'd concocted over the weekend did Donghyuck truly understand why the silly smile on Jeno's face was present. “Both you and Mark kind of went MIA on me, so I texted Jaemin,” Cue Donghyuck’s satisfied, but shocked glance. Jeno catches the surprise in Donghyuck's eyes, and chuckles. "I know, right? Finally," Now, he fiddles with his fingers. Usually when his best friend began to play with his hands, or the collar of his shirt, it was a tell that Jeno was nervous. That, or something had gone _wrong_. This was different though, because in addition to his usual fidgeting, Jeno was blushing. This was new Jeno-territory that Donghyuck was not familiar with. “So we went out on Saturday. We went to the movies, then got milkshakes at the little diner across the street from his house.”

Donghyuck knew just how big of a deal this was and for a fraction of a second, the letter fiasco disappeared from his thoughts. Hyuck grasps Jeno’s hands, squeezing and shaking them vigorously. “Jen, I am so proud! I feel like a parent or something! You’ve wanted this for so long! I'm so happy for you!”

“Thank you, Hyuck. _I’m_ really happy, Nana’s really great. I think if this manages to work out, I could really really like him—”

Their teacher walks in, causing Jeno’s sentence to hang unfinished. Both boys turn in their seats, sitting face front to give attention. And as Hyuck didn’t expect it, Jeno leans over silently and carefully places a note on his desk. When did he even write that? Hyuck hadn't even seen Jeno take out a pencil, let alone his notebook!

He peers down at the note. He reads what is sprawled in Jeno’s messy handwriting:  
**can I come over later at some point this week? maybe over the weekend?**

 _There it is_. Donghyuck writes back quickly: **you don’t even have to ask! i’ll be home, just come over!**

* * *

The rest of the day had goes by without much trouble. Donghyuck figures it's because his afternoon schedule was Jeno and Mark free, and with Jaemin not present in school, a class without the two boys he'd written letters to permitted Hyuck some breathing room. It also could have been the fact that he hid away in the library during lunch rather than sitting with Mark, but Hyuck doesn't think that was a big deal. Not at all, no.

 _Fine —_truthfully, he just did not want to spend any lengthened time with Mark until he and Yukhei figure out their story.

Which was what Yukhei proposed, as the two walked towards his car after school.

“Are you busy today?”

Donghyuck glances over at Yukhei as the boy retrieves his keys, opening the doors to put load their bags into the back seat. ( _Yukhei had insisted on holding Donghyuck’s bag, much to the younger boy’s protest. He has hands to carry his own bag, he doesn't need Yukhei's. The argument was futile though, as Yukhei was taller, older, and had several cards of leverage over Donghyuck_.)

“Am I busy? No, not really,” Donghyuck replies, hopping into the passenger. “Why?”

“Well, I was thinking I could come over and we could have snacks and go over our plan?” Yukhei asks as he inserting the key into the ignition. When Donghyuck doesn’t answer immediately _—_ because he was putting his seat belt on, _hello safety —_Yukhei fidgets. “Only if you want to though. N-Not forcing you.”

Donghyuck raises his eyebrow, as Yukhei just then had sounded just the slightest bit nervous. Immediately, Donghyuck brushes off any thought that Yukhei cared enough to genuinely be flustered around him. That absolutely was not the case. If anything, Yukhei’s voice was probably trembling because he was driving _and_ speaking. For everyone, multitasking wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

“You think you’re forcing me to spend time with you? Yukhei, you underestimate your part in this operation. I’ll take any time with you that you’re willing to give me.” His words were true. While Hyuck did not harbor any real feelings for Yukhei, that did not disguise the fact that Xuxi was still one of the most handsome and popular boys in the entire school. 

“You’re flattering me, Hyuck. I’ll give you as much time with me as _you’d_ like,” Yukhei drawls lowly, keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel as the two inched closer and closer to their destination. And no, Hyuck was not blushing as he catches sight of Yukhei's athletic, clean cut side profile as he abides to staying focused on the road. Of course not, _no_. “So that’s a yes to snacks and planning, then?”

“Yes?” Hyuck thought his previous sentence had made that obvious. “But I’m not sure I have any snacks at home, so we might have to stop off somewhere and buy some.”

“That’s fine.” Yukhei shrugs in indifference.

The response was confusing enough to Donghyuck. “What do you mean? No snacks would defeat the purchase of _snacks_ and planning. There’s a mini mart a block or two from my house, so if you don't mind I can run in and get something for us to share—”

Yukhei's disrupting sentence was rushed out hurriedly, like the senior didn’t want for Donghyuck to fully comprehend what he was actually saying. “—I.. bought snacks for this.. _Yesterday_.”

“You bought snacks already?”

“Well,” Yukhei’s speaking slowly now, most likely considering how exactly he wanted to explain his thoughts. “I had in mind to ask you to hang out today since Saturday night.. So, I went to the store yesterday and bought a whole bunch of snacks. I wasn’t really sure what you liked, so I bought a variety of things..”

Donghyuck’s gaze wanders leisurely over to Yukhei, who is now purposely unnaturally focused on the road ahead of him. That much was convenient. If Xuxi had been looking, he might’ve seen the embarrassingly astounded glint in Donghyuck’s eyes. It was a small gesture, but nevertheless it meant something to Donghyuck. “Thank you, Yukhei. You really didn’t have to do that,” Just then, Yukhei turns onto Donghyuck’s block, and the two retrieve their bags and start out of the car in silence. “But for the record? I like pretzels.”

“Pretzels? Wow that’s definitely noted, I’ll buy some next time. Actually, I might’ve gotten some today..” Yukhei practically scrambles out of the front seat, rounding the bend of the car to open the door for Donghyuck. Seeing Yukhei make such a hassle was somewhat humorous. He usually maintained such a calm and collected front, so this new side to the older boy was fascinating to see. Standing on the sidewalk and waiting for Yukhei to regroup, Donghyuck pulls out his house keys from the side of his jacket. After hearing some faint rustling, he watches Yukhei stumble past the trunk with three medium size shopping bags in hand. The boy glances up at Hyuck. “So, I have a good mix of things. I have two bags of chips, and lucky for you, I _did_ buy pretzels? Oh, _oh_! I also got Hello Panda snacks. The chocolate ones though, they're the best.”

With a playful roll of the eyes, Donghyuck beckons Yukhei up the walkway. As they walk, they make small talk against the sound of Donghyuck’s metallic keys jingling in a chiming way. He fumbles with opening the door, causing Yukhei to make a cheap pass about the younger being unable to open a door. The most unattractive snort passes Hyuck’s lips, even if the joke was poorly at his own expense.

Donghyuck decides then that Yukhei was awful.

They shuffle over to the kitchen, Yukhei taking a seat upon one of the counter stools while Donghyuck fetches bowls for the variety of yummy after school snacks that'd been purchased. “Do you want to sit down here or do you want to go up to my room? It’s your call, where do you think you’d be more comfortable?”

“I mean this in the most gentlemanly way ever, just so you know, but show me your room. I have an idea of how it’ll be like, so I kind of want to see if I’m right at all.”

Wordlessly, Donghyuck shoves two bowls into Yukhei’s hands. “What do you think my room is like?” With book-bags slung over backs and snack bowls held against their chests, they head up the stairs.

“Well, you wrote letters in pretty envelopes that you kept in a shoe box, so, I feel like you’re the type to keep a bunch of unnecessary things. Maybe not in like, a crazy hoarding way, but in the way that you like to keep your memories close. The type to reflect on things you liked in the past.” Yukhei wasn’t wrong, per say. He was scarily accurate for someone who wasn’t extremely familiar with Donghyuck. Was his personality that obvious, or was Yukhei just overly observant? “And you’ve worn like a hundred different Michael Jackson shirts on a daily basis, so you probably have a poster of him on your wall? Or like, a bunch of vinyls. Maybe both?” Right and right. “So, how accurate am I?”

Donghyuck pushes his door open. “See for yourself, smart ass.”

Yukhei lets out an obnoxiously shrill holler once he steps in. Surprisingly enough, his detailed description of Donghyuck’s room was not too far off to how it actually was set up. He did keep mementos, most stowed away at the tip top of his closet, but some were stationed around as decorations. For example, his parents had gifted him a record player a year or two ago, but Mark and Jeno were the first ones to buy Donghyuck a set of vinyls of the assorted artists he listened to. The player along with the accompanying vinyls were set on its own table just by his desk. Or the postcards and bracelets kept by his mirror that Renjun had sent him a few months ago when he had visited Europe with his ballet team.

“I can’t believe what I was thinking was so close to how it actually is. I guess I know you pretty well, huh, Hyuck? I’m a good boyfriend.”

“ _Boyfriend_.” Hyuck coughed. “That’s still so.. Odd. At least to hear from your lips directed towards me.”

Donghyuck half-expected for Yukhei to be somewhat offended by that, so he could say he was surprised when the older boy winked at him.

“You know, for this to be believable, we’re going to have to go on with this for a month or two?” Yukhei plops down on the bean bag directly next to Donghyuck’s bed, making himself comfortable like he’d been here dozens of occasions prior.

Donghyuck took a spare notebook and pen from off his desk, taking a seat on his bed. He sits criss-crossed over the duvet, close enough to Yukhei so they could share snacks and talk with convenience. “Why for a month or two? I was just thinking a week or two, then we say it was a summer fling and break it off. Wham, bam, no harm done.”

“Hyuck,” Yukhei sounds overly serious for the topic of conversation. Though Donghyuck couldn’t take Xuxi seriously as the older boy stuffs his mouth with Hello Panda crackers. “I haven’t dated anyone in school since I transferred. Do you think that it would make sense for me, being as popular and desired as I am, to finally date someone and it only last a week or two? That isn’t believable for me, and it wouldn’t work out for you either. If you wanna do it the way you’re saying, you’d be with me publicly for a week, break up, then be back to sitting with Mark and probably enduring questions. The longer you stay with me, the more likely it is for Mark to ask about the letter. Do you think he’d question you while you’re with me? If we do this,” He pointed between the two. “For long enough, the fact that you liked—like?—him will fade. He won’t ask you about your feelings from a year ago once you’ve had a long, stable relationship.”

He’s right and he knows it, Donghyuck knows it, and Xuxi knows that Donghyuck knows he’s right.

“If the thought sounds unbearable, let me tell you something that might ease the pain. I’m a senior, so I’ll be gone in a few months anyway. Just fake date me until I go to college and I’ll be out of the situation sooner than you can write another letter about your new, super real feelings for me.”

Donghyuck uncaps the pen, not giving Yukhei a firm answer as he begins to scrawl on the page. From where he sits, whatever Donghyuck was writing seemed like a child’s scribble, so Yukhei gets on his knees and leans on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making a contract,” Donghyuck clarifies, writing **CONTRACT** in bold lettering at the head of the page. “We’re going to write down all the things that we can or can’t do here.” He coughs. “Just so this doesn’t get too.. _Real_. I want to be in a someone eventually who likes me for me, and I’m not going to let you take away all my relationship firsts. So, we’re going to put everything that is important to making this _look_ real here.” Yukhei rolls his eyes, and Donghyuck swallows hard before continuing. “Anything you think should go here?”

“Put that this has to be at least longer than three months.” He’s firm with his assertion from earlier, and figuring that Yukhei was right, Donghyuck puts it down with a bold **1**. beside it. “And that we have to at least hold hands. I’m not ever going to force you to ever to anything you want to do. Ever. But, there has to be some sort of PDA at school so people know we’re a couple and not just friends.”

Holding hands was okay, Donghyuck was perfectly fine with that, so he adds it as well. “No kissing though, alright? I haven’t had my first kiss yet, and that’s another thing I want to save for someone who actually likes me.”

Yukhei seems shocked. “You haven’t had your first kiss yet? Really?”

“No,” And it was embarrassing for Donghyuck to admit, because he hadn’t told anyone who wasn’t Jeno or Mark this sort of information. He didn’t just go around talking about his relationship and kiss history. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, either. He’d had plenty of chances to make the magical first kiss happen, but he always shrunk when it was his turn to rise up to the occasion. Now he was 17 and never been kissed. “I just.. I’m not expecting the first one to be with someone who I’m madly in love with, but I at least hope that person cares enough about me to know that it’s special.” A stillness had fallen over the conversation. Donghyuck was more embarrassed that Yukhei didn’t say anything in response rather than making the admission itself. He’s blushing furiously. “Forget it, just forget I said that, okay? Just— _no kissing_.”

There’s an almost uncharacteristic caring glaze in Yukhei’s eyes. His voice is soft as he speaks to Hyuck, like he was treating this subject gently. “That’s fine, we don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t mind. Just know that it’s okay that you haven’t kissed. There are plenty of people who haven’t had their first kiss. It’s not weird, or anything.” He’s fiddling with his fingers now. “I know that this isn’t real, but you don’t ever have to be embarrassed about admitting stuff to me. We’re going to have to grow to at least like each other a little over the next few months. We might as well actually be friends.”

Hyuck slowly chews on a handful of pretzels from the bowl.

“I was going to tell you my embarrassing first kiss story, but let’s save it for a time where we’re not writing a contract,” Yukhei livens the mood, poking the side of Hyuck’s cheek before tapping the notebook paper. Before getting derailed, they only had two things jotted down. “At least three months, no kissing but some light hand holding.. what else?”

They ponder for a minute.

“I want you to walk me to at least one class a day.”

Yukhei nods. “I’ll one up that and walk you to all your classes, even if it’s out of my way. Done.”

“And.. can we go on at least a date out at least twice a month? It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, but just.. Us hanging out would be good, I guess? What kind of couple would we be if we don’t hang out in public at all?”

“Deal. I have one condition, though.”

Hyuck sits up. “Alright.. shoot!”

“You need to at least come to a party or two with me. Us dating and you not being my plus one to a super hot Friday party would make no sense.”

Hyuck whines a little, rocking back and forth with a slight pout across his lips. “Come on, a party?”

Parties had never been Donghyuck’s scene. Mark, being in the school’s popular popular crowd, loved them and Jeno usually would accompany him just for kicks. Hyuck was the friend who would begrundingly nurse them back to health after they sprawl over his bed complaining of having stomach and head aches. Yukhei was a frequent party attender, this was a condition that shouldn’t have come out of left field.

“And speaking of,” He’s grinning. “There’s a party this weekend, and I kind of want you to come with me.”

“Kind of?” Donghyuck feigns offense, clutching his heart as he keels over dramatically. “That hurts a little, Xuxi.”

“It hurts? Do you want me to kiss it better?” Yukhei reaches over, taking ahold of Donghyuck’s free hand sneakily. In an attempt to be suave, he begins to stroke the lines that connected Hyuck’s palm in the most tantalizing way. The younger boy’s brain short circuits at the simple touch, a wave of fuzz washing over him. “Of course I want my boyfriend at the party. So will you come with me?” Yukhei is still stroking the soft flesh, and now the pace is so slow that it makes Hyuck’s head throb. “ _Hmm_? Will you?”

He snatches his hand from Yukhei’s grasp, shoving the boy off the bed and back onto the bean bag. “I hate you, Xuxi,” He grumbles, feeling warm all over. “I guess I’ll come. I guess. I’ll see how I feel next weekend.”

Yukhei raises his arms in victory, sinking lower into the plush seat. “You’ll come and it’ll be fun, I promise. I’ll make sure we have a good time.”

Hyuck waves the conversation away, continuing to write down whatever they mentioned in the last few minutes or so.

The next hour or so is spent with them stuffing their stomachs with snacks and writing up the obligations that will surround the relationship. It’s nearing 5 when they finally finish, a page long of conditions that were absolutely, 100% non negotiable. Hyuck rips the paper out of the notebook, jumping off the bed to pin it just over his desk. “ _Aaaaaand_ we’re done!”

Yukhei’s phone vibrates then, and he flashes the caller ID at Hyuck—it was his cousin, his designated guardian who had been taking care of him here in Korea. The brief exchange was less than two minutes or so. When Xuxi hangs up, he slides his phone back in his jacket. “My cousin and his wife are making dinner, so I should go.”

Hyuck nods, handing Yukhei his bag that had been laid on the opposite side of the bed.

“Am I getting you tomorrow morning?”

“If you can, that’d be great.”

Yukhei flashes him a million dollar smile. “I’ll be here then.”

Hyuck almost swoons, but catches himself enough to walk Yukhei to the door with a fair making of composure. Xuxi’s back I turned towards Hyuck as they make the small trek down the stairs. “I have more thing though? It’s not a condition, moreso a question.” He calls over his shoulder. Hyuck hums, signaling for him to go on. “How do you feel about pet names? Do you like baby? Or something like that?”

“I-I don’t have a preference.”

They’re only face to face once they reach the first floor. Hyuck opens the door, and Yukhei takes one step out. He raises an eyebrow. “So baby is okay? I can call you that?”

The navy cape had been pulled over the sky, barely 5:30 and it was dark enough to pass as the middle of the night. Hyuck hopes that his blush— _he needs to stop blushing, really, what is up with that_ —isn’t too noticeable. He panics. “Sure whatever you want! Okay yeah bye, goodnight Xuxi, text me when you get home safe!”

He slams the door in Yukhei’s face, practically zooming up to his room. Tired from the day’s interactions as a whole, he nestles his head into one of the many pillows that littered his bed. A nap sounded perfect right about now, Hyuck figures. So that’s what he does, he takes the shortest rest possible, only awakened by the jingle of his phone going off.

 **[6:15 PM] from Yukhei:** see you tomorrow  
**[6:15 PM] from Yukhei:** baby ;-)

Donghyuck may have screamed into his pillow.

* * *

Aside from Yukhei picking him up and driving him home, the two don’t necessarily spend much time together that week. Of course there’s the minuscule moments during the day, like Xuxi walking Hyuck to every class _as promised_ , or Yukhei reaching for Hyuck’s hand if they pass each other in the hallway when they’re with their respective friend groups.

“So you and Yukhei,” it’s Jaemin who brings up the conversation during lunch that Friday. Ever since he and Jeno started going on more and more dates, he’d been a pleasant addition to the table. Jaemin is personable, smiley, and incredibly open to sharing all the snacks in his lunch box. Him sitting with them makes him realize two things: one, that Jaemin was exactly the type of person that Jeno needed in his life, and second, that Donghyuck likes him more ( _platonically, of course, they both have boyfriends now_ ) than he had before. Literally. “You guys are really really dating?”

He can’t hesitate with these kind of questions, he doesn’t want to bunk his credibility. That in mind, he nods, smiling as bashfully as he possibly could in the moment. “Yeah! We started talking in the summer, and after I knocked his car, we started talking again and it kind of just.. happened? I guess?”

Jeno picks at a french fry from off Mark’s plate. For once the elder doesn’t even flinch, or playfully flick a fry across the table. Odd. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us you were talking to Wong Yukhei. It just sounds like something you wouldn’t leave out. Especially because you find him so annoying.”

“Found annoying. Keyword here is past tense,” Donghyuck corrects, taking a bite of his lunch. Internally he cringes, but forces out a statement calling Yukhei his baby. “He’s not annoying, I like that tall, cute guy now.”

“Gross,” Jeno is playful, crinkling his nose at Donghyuck’s words. “I never thought I would see the day where Lee Donghyuck is being so lovestruck. Especially with Yukhei, this whole situation is so fascinating to me!”

“Hey, I could say the same! I won’t forget how blushy you get over Jaemin! I’ve never seen another human being get that flustered before,” Hyuck is laughing now, watching Jaemin gaze at the boy next to him with adoration. Nana pinches Jeno’s cheeks, and the older boy whines and pushes him away. Hyuck sighs, wistfully. “You guys are so cute.”

“I bet you and Yukhei are cute too!” Jaemin exclaims, his eyes flickering to a figure just behind Donghyuck. Not addressing it, Hyuck concludes it was probably simple lunchtime antics, and doesn’t ask Jaemin if anything or anyone was behind him.

Hyuck chuckles, taking a swig of the iced tea he’d been drinking since first period. “That’s up for debate. He’s cute, I’m not so sure if we’re cute together. But him? Definitely cute.”

“I’m so glad you think I’m cute, but I think you’re cuter,” The voice is too familiar. Stunned, Hyuck is gaping as Yukhei himself takes the free seat to his right. His arm recoils around Hyuck’s shoulder, pulling the tinier boy into him. Pressed up against his side, Hyuck could feel the incredibly warm body heat that Yukhei radiated—it he didn’t know any better, he’d cuddle himself right up against the senior. He even smelled nice, an intoxicating mixture of expensive perfume and.. vanilla? “Hey, baby.” It’s loud enough for the table to hear, but just low enough for Hyuck to feel woozy at the way Yukhei was speaking to him.

“Xuxi! What are you doing here?”

“Saying hi to my boyfriend? And my boyfriend’s friends,” He flashes that smile that charms the entire school body time and time again. “Hi Jaemin, hi Jeno, hi Mark.”

They all chorus ‘hello!’ back. Even Mark, who’s been pretty stoic all lunch. Really, he’d been like that all week. Donghyuck had been meaning to talk to him, but every time he thought he had the courage to go see Mark alone, his bravery faltered. Hyuck frowns.

“I actually came over to make sure you were coming with me to the party later? The one at Jungwoo’s.”

Hyuck, admittedly, was planning on attempting to unhook himself from the night’s plans. Rather than attending the party, Hyuck was thinking he’d fake some ridiculous excuse to stay home.

That got Mark’s attention. His eyes snap up to directly focus on Yukhei and Hyuck, who were practically snuggled up before him. “You’re going to Jungwoo’s party?”

Hyuck hums in response. “Xuxi asked me to earlier this week.”

Mark sounds.. _offended_? “I’ve asked you dozens of times to go to parties with me, and you’ve never wanted to come.”

 _Well nothing’s changed, I still don’t wanna go_ , thinks Donghyuck.

“Don’t look into it too much, Mark,” Here’s Jeno, the quiet voice of wisdom within the three of them. Whenever there was fighting between their small circle, Jeno lent his opinion to lessen the blows being slung. “He has a boyfriend now, obviously he might be more inclined to go. It’s not that big of a deal.”

For once, Jeno’s words did not help the situation. On the contrary, they seemed to upset the senior boy more. “What, so a boyfriend is more important than his friends? We’ve never been like that, never. The fact that you’d even say is ridiculous, and you know it, Jen,” Mark uncharacteristically snaps at Jeno, and the other boy reclines a bit in shock. Sure, Mark and Donghyuck would argue sometimes, their polar opposite attitudes did tend to clash, but Mark had never raised his voice at Jeno. They were too similar, and would sometimes disagree, but never fight. “This whole situation is just so—”

And Mark looks at Donghyuck. Really looks at him, for the first time in a while. He sees the sadness in the younger’s eyes, identifying easily how upset it made Hyuck to see Mark be frustrated. He still cared for Mark, a large part of his heart would always be reserved for him whether it be platonically or some feelings just a bit stronger.

“—Whatever.. It’s fine. You know, I’m glad that you’ll come,” Mark’s demeanor switches, from anger to a subdued impartial attitude. “It’s your junior year, I know how much you wanted to make this your year by doing all the things you hadn’t last year.” His eyes flicker to Yukhei, then back to the table. “Guess this is no exception. I’ll see you all there.”

The bell rings, and Mark is the first to leave. It’s silent, and the remaining four exchange clueless glances.

“Don’t take that to heart, Hyuckie. He’s been really stressed recently, with college and all. I think being in school and beginning to apply is really just.. getting to him,” Jeno leans over the table, rubbing Hyuck’s shoulders comfortingly. “He’ll come around sooner or later. Don’t worry.”

Hyuck nods, sighing. “Yeah.. I know.”

Jeno and Jaemin apparently have a class together, so the two of them walk side by side after waving goodbye to Hyuck and Yukhei. Donghyuck has third period, while Yukhei has a free, so the senior begins to walk him to his class.

“I feel like this was all indirectly my fault,” Yukhei begins as the two walk into the stairway that lead to the upper floors. “So I’d like to apologize.”

“I do think that you mentioning the party was a catalyst, but if I’m being honest, he’s been upset all week. I just think this was something that set him off a little. It’s not your fault, really.” Hyuck drifts off a bit, staring at the art hung up on the wall. There were colorfully drawn posters for clubs and sports, or fliers for sign ups to be on prom committee. Which randomly reminds him of something. “Why’d you ask about the party now if you’re taking me home after school?”

“I didn’t think you’d refuse to go in front of Mark,” He grins. “I have to get crafty if I want you to go out with me, Lee Donghyuck.”

“I’m supposed to be the crafty one in this relationship, quit it, Wong Yukhei!” Donghyuck literally whines, pushing the boy’s chest softly.

“I’ll be crafty only this once.” Yukhei cutely pouts, holding his index finger up. “I’ll leave that to you as long as you come to this party. I promise, we’ll stay for an hour, and then I’ll take you home. And if you want to leave before then, I’ll take you home.”

“Okay, Wong Yukhei.” Donghyuck finally agrees. “I’m keeping you to this.”

* * *

Yukhei, after dropping Donghyuck off at home, clarified about a hundred more times that he wouldn’t be attending Jungwoo’s party alone that night. Hyuck had agreed to that condition in the contract, so he decides to give this whole party game a try. And Yukhei had sworn up and down that he’d take Hyuck home if at any point he felt uncomfortable. The senior seemed genuine in his promise, which eased Hyuck’s nerves.

He’d mentioned the party to his parents the night Yukhei had initially bought it up earlier that week, and his family was ecstatic that Donghyuck was dipping his toe into something he wasn’t totally used to. They had assumed he was going to attend said party with Mark and Jeno, so when Hyuck corrected them and told them about Yukhei— who, to his parents, was now lovingly nicknamed ‘ _the tall handsome chauffeur_ ’— they were even more excited to see Hyuck branch out.

Everyone seemed to be happy with this situation, Hyuck thinks to himself as he trudges up the stairs to his room. Everyone except Mark, but that was a different story that he’d save for another day. As Hyuck throws his bag onto the plush bean bag, he stands in the center of his room to consider it all. Yukhei would be his driver, his parents were okay with him being out for the night, and Jaemin, Jeno, and Mark would all be there if anything fell through. Now the only unset factor was perhaps the most crucial one: he needed an outfit.

Inspired, Donghyuck heads over to rifle through his closet. Not to brag or anything of the sort, but he prides himself on being well dressed. Take away anything from Hyuck, but one could never take away his impeccably cute taste in clothes. His comfy sweaters and cute jackets were perfect for a wide range of events, such as everyday school outfits, to semi-formal hangouts with friends. But as he searches, he realizes that he doesn’t really have anything fit for a party. His blue cashmere sweater wasn’t made for sweating in a crowd of rowdy, dancing teenagers, and his pepto-bismol colored vest didn’t exactly scream ‘ _I am here willingly_ ’.

“Curse my entirely dashing wardrobe.” Hyuck sighs dramatically, taking a seat on the edge of his bed as he ponders what to wear from a distance.

Surprisingly enough, this is how the rest of Hyuck’s afternoon goes. As the day transitions from the sun being hung by cotton white clouds to the sky painting itself a darker shade of blue, he spends all his time getting ready. It shouldn’t have taken such a long time, he knows, but he wanted to look nice. This is probably one of the only parties he’d attend all year, Hyuck has every right to feel comfortable with himself.

And by the time Yukhei calls him and tells him he’s outside, he thinks he looks pretty good. The outfit he went with wasn’t the most intricate, but it was one where nobody could say he looked messy while at the same time one that if someone spilled a drink on him, he couldn’t say he’d throw a fit. Unless it dribbled onto the red velvet jacket that accompanied his black zip up sweater—that jacket was so nice that he may _just have to_ start a fight if it got damaged.

Yukhei was waiting for him outside, leaning casually against the car. Maybe it was the faint light from the setting sun that was casting on him, or maybe it was how cute he looks in his denim jacket and comfy brown sweater, but something about the way Yukhei looks in that moment tugs entirely on Donghyuck’s heartstrings.

When the senior heard him coming, he pockets his phone and glances up quickly. Yukhei’s lips curl as soon as he sees him, and said smile does wonders to cause Hyuck’s stomach to swirl dreamily. “Hey there, baby,” There he goes again with the nickname that secretly made Donghyuck’s head spin. “I was getting kind of worried, I was thinking your sweater may have swallowed you whole.”

“I wouldn’t have let it, I would’ve fought back. How could I leave my boyfriend out here with no date?” Technically, Yukhei would have plenty of company regardless of whether or not Hyuck had decided to go. Yukhei didn’t necessary need him there, Hyuck thinks, but this was supposed to be one of the many bold statements towards the student body. They were a couple, so they needed to act as one.

“That’s my boy!” says Yukhei while he opens the passenger side door politely. While sliding into the car, Hyuck makes a comment about the senior being such a good date. “A good date? Only for you.”

Hyuck pretends to not hear that. Despite this whole relationship situation being fake, Yukhei sure knows how to make him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Hyuck _hates_ it.

The drive to Kim Jungwoo’s isn’t a lengthy one. He commutes to college and lives by Yukhei, right on the edge of town in a considerably large house. Donghyuck’s heard it’s probably wide enough to be considered a mansion, but he’s never been. But as Yukhei pulls into the drive way, Hyuck found himself in awe at how big the house really was. “Yeah, this is definitely a suitable size for a party.” He gapes.

Yukhei looks over, raised eyebrows. “You’ve never been to Jungwoo’s?” Hyuck answers the question with a simple glance. “Well, it’s the first time for everything!”

And he’s right, Hyuck feels as if he was in an alternate universe as Yukhei boldly intertwines their fingers and pulls him towards the thumping music. They walk hand in hand up the walkway, waving to those outside with their free hands. Once the two were inside, Yukhei asks Hyuck to come upstairs with him before they entered the actual party zone. Hesitantly, he lets himself be dragged up the stairs and pulled into the nearest empty room.

“Sit down.” Yukhei points to a comfy desk chair. Hyuck sits, and observes Yukhei as he retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket. He’s confused until the boy holds the phone up and angles it at Donghyuck.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking a picture of you?” Yukhei says it as if his actions were the most obvious in the entire world, and that Hyuck questioning him at all was silly. He puts his phone down, almost exasperated that he has to explain. “Duh?”

“I know I’m not blind, Xuxi! But why are you taking a picture of me?” Hyuck looks around. “And is this Jungwoo’s room? It’s nice.”

“Because I want to make you my lockscreen? And I want a picture that looks personal. So please,” Xuxi takes photo stance once again. “Smile. Smile like you’re really in love with me and super happy that I’m taking a picture.”

“That’s impossible.” Donghyuck remarks, offering Yukhei the most awkward smile. He whines, knowing that the picture taken must’ve been possibly the worst one ever. “Can we do a redo?”

Yukhei seems too preoccupied to give Hyuck a proper answer, waving him off as he makes the picture his lockscreen. “ _Nooo_ , I like this one. You look like an awkward duckling, I love it.”

Donghyuck grumbles, whipping his own phone out in retaliation. Instead of taking the liberty of just taking the picture, he passed his phone to Yukhei, who accepts it. He holds it as if it was a foreign object, staring at the open camera app. “You want a picture of yourself from your own phone?” He rolls his eyes. “And I’m conceited?”

“No! Take a selfie on my phone so I can make it my lockscreen.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you just say so!” Yukhei nods in understanding, angling the phone up as he takes several selfies on Hyuck’s phone. When satisfied, he hands it back to Hyuck and gestures towards the door. “Now, let’s go party!“

When they get downstairs and finally start to mingle, Hyuck feels silly for never attending a party beforehand.

It’s nothing like what he had previously imagined. Sure, partying wouldn’t ever be his favorite pastime, but being able to converse with students from his school and the surrounding area is pretty fun. It doesn’t help that Jungwoo’s house is beyond amazing, and the college student has a wide selection of drink choices and some delicious snacks. Hyuck doesn’t drink, but he helps himself to platefuls of at least a handful of everything Jungwoo had to offer.

Yukhei watches him with fond fascination as Hyuck downs his third Cherry Coke. Xuxi himself sips on lemonade—the two had established early on that he wouldn’t be drinking since he was driving. After they finished their drinks, the two sat in the center of it all with Yukhei’s arm coiled around Hyuck’s shoulder in a very lithe, casual manner. They’d been at the party for about two hours, maybe a little more, and Hyuck wouldn’t lie when he said he was feeling a little tired. He would not give any sign at all that his energy levels were a little low. Perhaps the only giveaway was how Hyuck’s head was leaning onto the arm Yukhei had wrapped around him.

The back of Yukhei’s index finger caressed the side of Hyuck’s cheek carefully. “You tired, Hyuckie?” He whispers, holding the boy just the tiniest bit tighter.

“Maybe.. I’m tired but also I shouldn’t have had so many Cherry Cokes on an empty stomach.” Hyuck comments, readjusting himself in Xuxi’s grip.

“You didn’t eat before I got you?” Yukhei asks, sounding almost disappointed.

“Does eating a bunch of Pocky while I picked out my outfit count?“ Yukhei shakes his head no. “Well, I spent all my time getting ready, so I didn’t get to make anything to eat.”

“You wanna go get something to eat before I drop you off? Or are you too tired?”

“..I could eat.”

“Alright,” Yukhei removes himself from Hyuck’s side before standing up. “I’m gonna go say goodbye to Jungwoo before we get going. Do you wanna come with, or do you think you’ll be okay on your own?”

Hyuck considers. “You can go, I think I saw Jaemin, Jeno, and Mark earlier, I’ll see I could find them and say goodbye.”

Yukhei backs away slowly, looking weary at the mention of Mark. “Alright.. If I don’t find you in like 10 minutes or so, text me? We’ll go then. Text me before if you need me.” He starts in one direction, while Hyuck goes in the opposite. “I’ll miss you, baby!”

“I’ll I miss you more!” Hyuck calls out, blowing Xuxi an elaborate kiss.

“Not if I miss you _moooost_.” Xuxi sing songs, pretending to catch the affection Hyuck threw from across the room. He grabs the kiss and clutches it close to his heart before flirtatiously winking. Yukhei finally turns away then.

Donghyuck thinks that maybe he should’ve stuck close to Yukhei, as he realizes that he isn’t very good at navigating himself around such a large party. He politely pushes past teens, some gripping from red solo cups while others held their phones to Snapchat their dance moves and add them to their stories. With all these people, he wasn’t sure how he’d find his friends.

Coincidentally, they find him first.

Fingers grasp his wrist, limply pulling Donghyuck to the side. Scared for the slightest second, his instinct ( _plus one week of karate class_ ) kicks in and his free hand reaches up to push at the stranger. Hyuck’s opponent was faster, though, clutching both of his wrists. Donghyuck glances up, curious and confused as to who exactly was being just so bold with him, he shouldn’t be surprised when he’s face to face with Mark Lee.

In the neon strobe light, Mark looked celestial, the blue and purple colors casting a beautiful shadow upon his figure. He isn’t quite smiling, but he doesn’t appear as mad as he’d been the past week. Maybe that could be attributed to whatever liquid sloshed in his red cup, but nevertheless Donghyuck was happy to see him.

“Mark,” He breathes out. “I was looking for you, actually. Were you with Jeno and Jaemin?”

“I was, but then they went off to get something to drink and they didn’t come back? Jeno has my phone, so I’m kind of in a tough place,” He explains. “But I remembered you said you’d come so I’d figure if I found you it’d be a double win.”

“Why?”

“Well firstly, I’m sure you have your phone, so we can call the lovebirds and track them down. And secondly,” Mark releases his grip on Hyuck’s wrists and stares awkwardly at his sneakers. “I’m sorry for my attitude recently. We haven’t talked in awhile and it’s because you’ve been with Yukhei and.. I wasn’t sure when to interject. You haven’t dated anyone, so I knew this was important, and I didn’t want to interfere..”

“Mark, you’re never interfering. You’re my best friend, you could never bother me,” Hyuck sighs. “I just.. I was scared to see you after the..” He trails off, the loud rap track playing in the background enough to make Hyuck lose his train of thought. “Do you really think this is the right place to talk about this?”

Mark glares at him a little sadly, frowning. “It’s not, but when are you going to willingly talk to me?”

“How about.. we talk?” Hyuck offers, a little nervous. “Tomorrow or Sunday maybe? Before we go back to school on Monday.”

“You promise?” He looks unconvinced, so he puts his pinky out towards Hyuck. “Pinky promise.”

Hyuck rolls his eyes at Mark’s extended finger, a low ‘ _hmph_ ’ passing his lips. His reaction is hypocritical, as he matches Mark’s pinky with his own, the two linking theirs together in union. “What are we? Five? I thought we were better than this, Mark Lee.”

“You’d _never_ break a pinky promise—”

Just then, Jeno and Jaemin come walking towards them. Hand on hand, of course, rambunctiously chatting about who-knows-what. Jaemin is the first to greet Mark and Hyuck. “Hey guys! We were looking for you!”

“Where’s Yukhei, Hyuck?” asks Jeno, looking around as if he expected for the senior to be somewhere in the surrounding area. Hyuck is surprised how only after a full week of dating, his friends were already used to Yukhei’s presence.

“We’re heading out, so he went to go say goodbye to Jungwoo and his friends,” says Hyuck. “Maybe I should go find him, I’m pretty tired..”

Jaemin pouts. “You’re leaving so early? That sucks, I was hoping we could all hang out!”

Hyuck laughs, patting Jaemin’s shoulder before taking out his phone to text Yukhei that he was ready to go. “Another time, Nana. I promise, I’ll tell Xuxi and we could all go out for pizza or something. He’d like that, I’m sure.” And Hyuck means it, Yukhei was a very social person, so he’d enjoy going out to eat. Now whether or not Hyuck should mix his actual friends with Yukhei, his fake boyfriend, he wasn’t sure. It only complicates the lie, and adds unnecessary planning to the essentially simple plan Yukhei and Hyuck dreamy up. It was the main reason Hyuck did not want to introduce Yukhei to his family.

It would only hurt everyone around them if they got attached to Yukhei. The only person Hyuck was okay with hurting in this situation was himself. He’d avoid pain for his friends and family at all costs.

Yukhei texts back and tells him that he was waiting by the door for Hyuck. Taking his cue to leave, he bids goodbye to all his friends. Just before leaving, he clarified to Mark that it was okay for him to come over on Sunday so they could have the ‘talk’ that needed to go down. Jeno had already told Donghyuck earlier in the week that he wanted to talk, so he reestablished that he’d come too, just as a mediator. That’s fine, as Hyuck figures it might be better to have someone else there anyway. Jeno got a letter as well, so maybe it’d be less awkward to explain it to both in one shot.

After, he heads for the door, where Yukhei was waiting for him. He flashes him a cocky grin, offering him his hand. “Let’s go, baby.”

* * *

They decide on getting a late night snack at the diner just by Jaemin’s house. Hyuck has been there several times before with Jeno and Mark, and he was a big fan of their grilled cheese. Yukhei has no protest, so they make their way back to the center of town.

It’s the in between time on a Friday night where some people come to the diner hungry post-party, while others order snacks pre-party. Despite the fullness, the server finds a seat for them in a cozy booth nestled just in the back. To get to said table, Yukhei and Hyuck had to walk throughout a handful of tables full of students from their school and others alike. Walking hand in hand, Hyuck mutters that this was perfect exposure. Yukhei looks back at him, and grins in agreement.

Eventually, they’re seated and left with menus to look over.

“Hyuck, you’ve been here. What should I get?” Yukhei asks, tone unsure and face hidden by the tall menu.

“Well,” Hyuck’s eyes scan the expanse of dishes. There’s just so much, and Hyuck isn’t really sure what he’d recommend. “There’s the French toast, which I think is really delicious.. The burgers are good too, though I usually get a grilled cheese. And the fries with gravy, I shared those once with Mark.” Hyuck almost chokes on the name.

“Donghyuck,” Yukhei places the menu down, an exasperated look in his eyes. His pretty, deep brown eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of the saying that you’re not supposed to talk about your exes with your current partner?” He sounds playful, but Hyuck feels an underline of annoyance. Maybe he shouldn’t have bought up Mark.

“Mark wasn’t my ex—”

“—But you talk about him as if he was. You might not have been dating, but your feelings were stronger than most people towards their partners in actual relationships.” Yukhei sips his water in a very matter-of-factly sort of way. “Now, recommend me something you’ve never had with Mark.”

He frowns a little, weighing the options over once again. “I’m not sure what you like.” He concludes, finally. “I can’t really give you a good recommendation if I don’t know what you like. What if I tell you I like the peanut butter pancakes, and you’re allergic to peanuts? That would _kill_ you! How could I live knowing I killed my first real-not-real boyfriend!”

“You know what I like? No—rather, _who_ I like?” He pauses. It was more of a rhetorical question, he didn’t want an actual answer on Hyuck’s behalf. “ _You_ , Lee Donghyuck. I like you. And, I’m not allergic to anything, so give me the best thing to order and I will. I’ll like it because you recommended to me, and that’s what matters.”

“Once I had the blueberry pancakes. I don’t really remember much of that time, but I do remember them being good,” Donghyuck offers. “So, I’d tell you to get those.”

Yukhei nods, the blueberry pancake deal already sealed as the waiter comes back for their orders. Despite never having said pancakes before, Yukhei sounds very sure in asking for them with extra whipped cream. Donghyuck gets a grilled cheese with fries with yet another cherry coke. ( _He was going to order a milkshake to fulfill his overly fluff-like high school fantasy. The one of sharing a milkshake with whoever he was dating, leaning over the table with furious blushes, shyly sipping through two bendy straws. He decides against it for now, though_.)

They make casual talk after ordering, mostly small comments and chit chat about school. The conversation doesn’t pick up until their orders arrive. To Hyuck, the situation is laughable because the usual reaction to food being served causes people to not talk. However, today it was the opposite.

“How was the party! Not too bad, right? I promised you I’d make sure you weren’t having a bad time.”

Hyuck picks a fry off his plate, shrugging. “I’ll give it to you, I didn’t have a terrible time. So thank you, Wong Yukhei, for that. Now that I spent a night out like you did, I think it’s only fair if you spent a Friday night like I usually do.“

“And what’s that? Coordinating the week’s outfits while listening to old vinyls?” Hyuck throws a fry at him for the comment, causing Yukhei to laugh. For the most part, he wasn’t wrong but that wasn’t _all_ Donghyuck did. “Just kidding, just kidding. I agree, I think that’s only fair. What does Lee Donghyuck usually do on the weekends? Dear boyfriend, please divulge my curiosity. I’d like to know all about you, because we’re dating and I know nothing really.”

“Don’t laugh, but I like to bake. So if I don’t have any big tests to study for, I’ll put some music on and bake.”

Yukhei doesn’t seem totally disinterested. “What types of things do you like to bake?”

“Anything, really. Cakes, cookies, brownies, whatever I feel like at the time. I have a bunch of cookie batter at home, so maybe I’ll do that.”

“So, you want me to come over and help you bake?”

“Depends,” Hyuck takes a bite into his grilled cheese. It was still hot, and the cheese was practically oozing from the slice he picked up. “How bad are you at baking? If you’re a disaster, you can sit and watch me bake. I don’t want a fire hazard in my kitchen.”

“Very mean of you to assume I’m bad in the kitchen at all. On the contrary, I think I’m a pretty decent baker. I can make some slamming cookies without burning my house down,” He cuts his pancakes into tiny squares before loading three on his fork and stuffing them right into his mouth. “I think that accounts for something.”

“No, I think that means you learned basic fire safety. You get no merit for that, Xuxi.”

“Well, my boyfriend is a good baker. That’s practically my membership into the national baking club of South Korea.” He points at Donghyuck. “You’re my winning ticket, baby!“

“I don’t give free rides. Learn to bake yourself, Yukhei. Maybe then you’ll be just as good as me.” Hyuck giggles, turning the ice around in his coke with the straw. “But what do you say? I can order pizza and we can bake a little, then maybe watch a movie afterwards?”

Yukhei hums, reaching for the extra straw that was teetering on the table’s ledge, only to open it and stick it directly into Hyuck’s Cherry Coke. The younger boy whines, arms flailing as Yukhei takes a few long sips. “I’m game, but only if you let me choose the movie. And let me eat some of the batter of whatever you bake.”

Donghyuck snatches his drink from Yukhei’s grasp, narrowing his eyes playfully. “I’ve heard you’re not supposed to eat batter. Salmonella, you know?”

“Well, do you eat the batter?” Hyuck nods yes. “Have you ever had salmonella?” Now, Hyuck nods no. “Well, the baking extraordinaire eating the batter and still living to sit with me is one reason that it should be safe. And two, salmonella can’t touch me. My pretty boy looks mean I’m immune to worldly illnesses, like I’ve never had a cold. _Explain that_.”

Yukhei’s words are so ridiculously random that Donghyuck finds a spontaneous fit of boisterous laughter falling from his lips. “I don’t think your looks have anything to do with it, Xuxi. But if that makes you feel better, then sure. Whatever you say.”

Yukhei shakes his shoulders happily, continuing to sip from Hyuck’s soda. “Thank you, _baaaaby_!” Hyuck wonders if the thank you is for the free sips of his drink, or for indulging his silly reasoning.

They continue eating, and conversation goes quiet for a little bit. All is still until Yukhei takes out his phone, snapping a quick flick of Donghyuck cutely munching on a fry. He shows the taken picture to the boy, holding the screen to his chest fondly while Hyuck complains that he looks bad. “Bad? No, no, you look so cute. Really cute. Wow, I’m posting this to Instagram,” His fingers tap away at the screen. “Let’s caption this, ‘ _my french fry fiend_ ’. Then let’s add green heart, blue heart, pink heart, pink with the arrow going through it, pink vibrating heart—is it _vibrating_? I don’t know.”

“Xuxi, can I ask you something?”

“No, I’m not taking it down.” He doesn’t even look up.

Donghyuck scoffs. ”Not the _picture_. Just.. why are you so insistent on taking this so seriously? It'd be so easy for you to just hang out with me in intervals, rather than literally hanging out with me so much. It doesn’t bother me, by the way, I’m just.. Curious? I guess?”

Yukhei huffs, exasperated. “Donghyuck, have you ever heard the saying ‘ _fake it till’ you make it_?’” Hyuck nods, because of course he's heard that saying. Everyone's said it at least once in their lives. Yukhei goes on. “We’re going to fake this until Mark is insanely jealous and the whole school votes us best couple,” Yukhei leans in, clarifying. “Just an FYI, we’re eligible for that because I’m a senior. Nobody else is real competition. Jeno and Jaemin are pretty cute, but they’re not seniors. So sad, so tragic, better luck next year!”

“And you don’t mind winning that with me? Even though we’re,” Hyuck’s eyes dart around nervously, as if his next words were a conspiracy. For Yukhei and Hyuck, they almost were. “You know? Not really dating.”

“Donghyuck, you seem more worried about us taking this too seriously rather than actually trying to make it look real. I have no regrets with this, I willingly told you I’d give up my senior year bachelor status to help you. You’re my friend, kind of like my little junior project. So no, I don’t mind.”

“You’re not worried about us taking it too seriously and—”

“—And what? Falling dangerously in L-O-V-E? Donghyuck, I haven’t really dated anyone since transferring, do you think I’ll fall for you so easily?” The words are harsh, but Yukhei’s way of saying it lacks the bite needed for Donghyuck to feel truly offended. Nevertheless, the words make him a little sad. Not enough for it to reflect in his eyes, but enough for a sore feeling to wave through Hyuck’s body. “Donghyuck, you’re cute and all, don’t get me wrong—”

“—When someone has a sentence with ‘ _don’t get me wrong_ ’, the next words are usually offensive.”

“Alright, smart alec. No, I’m not saying anything offensive, I’m not a jerk. All I’m saying is that I don’t know if us doing this little experiment relationship is going for me to have any real feelings towards you. It wouldn’t be good for either of us, so even if I did start to like you,” When Donghyuck’s eyes widen, so do Yukhei’s, and his words slip out of his mouth faster. ‘ _Even if_ ’ implies that there is in fact a chance, because if not, the sentence would be phrased differently. “Which that won’t. Definitely won’t. But if, theoretically, that did happen, I’d push the feelings as far away as I could. I’m going to college soon, I can’t like someone and then move away. That hurts me, and whoever I’m dating.” Donghyuck could tell that in his own, odd way, this was Yukhei’s form of venting. So, he stays quiet, sipping his Cherry Coke from his own straw and not interrupting the senior.

“That’s why I never wanted a serious relationship, even though I’ve been here for almost three years now. Because I get attached. Not in a clingy or weird way, just in a way that I’d want to stay with that person as long as they’d want to be with me, and as long as we could make it work. I could have dated someone just because, but that’s not really my style. I definitely could have though,” He lets out a cocky laugh, gesturing to as much as his physique as he could while seated. “Because look at me. Literally, bless my parents, they have the best genes. I’m 183 cm of Chinese-Thai amazingness. But you’re kind of like my reason to not have to fend off dates anymore. I can be myself around you, I hope, and we could enjoy each other’s company without the strings usually attached with a relationship.” He bites the last bit of pancake off his fork. “Don’t you like getting experience? Practice with me, so when you actually date the person of your dreams that you’ve talked about, at least you’ll be a little more suave.” 

Donghyuck can't argue with that. 

* * *

The need to fall into the land of slumber really kicks in to Donghyuck once the night hits the 12 AM mark. By that time they had already finished eating, and Yukhei was on his way to drop Hyuck off at home. The unobtrusive lights from the overhead lamp flicker down on the ill-defined sidewalk, and Hyuck enjoys sleepily watching the different figures that form from the almond shaded luster. Hyuck’s head feels heavy as he leans on the window, while Yukhei drives through the town, his grip tight on the steering wheel as he hums a faint tune.  

“Yukhei?” Donghyuck’s voice is quiet, most definitely due to how tired he was.

“Yeah, Hyuckie?”

“Why was me recommending something to you that Mark hadn’t ever had before so important?” It was a question that had lingered in Donghyuck’s mind since earlier, but he hadn’t wanted to ask. He could tell that even though Mark and Yukhei were friends, the senior didn’t exactly like when Hyuck brought him up in conversation unnecessarily. One main point of this relationship was to distract Donghyuck’s from the tantalizing thought that came in the form of Mark Lee. He still wondered why Yukhei sounded borderline irritated at the mention of Mark, and he wanted to know the answer aside from the general _‘because you’re supposed to get over him_ ’.

The car pulls up to a stop light, and Yukhei now has the luxury to glance over at the younger boy. Donghyuck was too focused on the light rain that was beginning to shimmer on the pavement to notice Yukhei’s brief stare, but the senior coughs at one point, focusing his eyes back on the road. “I know our relationship is fake, we talked about this earlier. But, I want you to look back at this one day, and not be totally regretful. Maybe you’ll even smile. I just want you to have meaningful memories that are ours, no matter whether or not we really have feelings for each other. I hope you can remember one day that the super cute senior Wong Yukhei took you to a party, and then ate the delicious blueberry pancakes at the nearby diner afterwards.” He’s silent, pensive. “That’s all.”

Hyuck is too tired for a proper response, but he mumbles out a half-baked sentence.  “I really think you’re a good guy. _Really_.”

* * *

Donghyuck wakes up the next day feeling for the most part pretty refreshed. It’s Saturday, the one day in the week where his family finds it acceptable to sleep in just the slightest bit later than usual. Usually he disregards said weekend morning luxury, but today he thinks taking an extra hour and a half’s worth of sleep is extremely justifiable. It’s still pretty early when he does make his way downstairs, and he is surprised to find his family still gathered around the dining room table, eating breakfast. They welcome him, and beckon for him to take his seat and eat with them. It’s the usual and familiar menu, rice with some soup, but Hyuck is grateful as he serves himself and begins to spoon rice into his mouth. Breakfast as well as the conversation that accompanied it was going well, and Hyuck has no qualms discussing school work and such, until his mother makes a comment about ‘ _the handsome chauffeur who walked you in last night_ ’.

“What handsome boy?” asks Donghyuck, obviously a very confused boy with way too much rice shoved in his mouth. “ _Yukhei_? Yukhei walked me in?”

His parents share a look before shrugging. His father adjusts his glasses, wagging his finger at Hyuck as he stares at the ceiling. “Yes, I think he introduced himself as Yukhei. You were very tired and fell asleep in that young boy’s car, so he helped you up to your room, then left. It was kind of him to do so.”

“Yes, it was very kind,” agrees Donghyuck’s mother. “I think you should invite him over for dinner. Do you think he’d like that? You can ask him what type of food he likes, and I can try to make something delicious. It’d be nice for you to have friends over that aren’t Jeno and Mark,” She forgets _Jaemin,_ because they haven’t met, but maybe bringing the ever-polite and handsome addition to the mix would eliminate Yukhei having to come over. “I say you tell him to come over for dinner. Tonight is probably too soon, so maybe next week? Tell him, Donghyuck, will you?”

And he couldn’t say no to his mother, especially not when his father and siblings were also staring at him expectantly. Hyuck feels pressured to nod his head and say that _‘of course he’d invite Yukhei over_ ’. So, he does, and his family seems excited. Especially his siblings, who knew that company meant dessert. ( _His little sister had also seen Yukhei a few times in the window when he picked up Donghyuck, and she’s made a remark that she finds him pretty cute_.)

Donghyuck excuses himself from the table after the exchange with his family, and he charges up the stairs to where his phone was stationary on his nightstand. He picks it up, ignoring all other notifications in favor of opening up his messages with Yukhei. He sends a quick text, not expecting to get an answer back within minutes.

 **[10:01 AM] from Hyuck:** DID YOU WALK ME IN LAST NIGHT?????  
**[10:01 AM] from Hyuck:** ?????????????

 **[10:03 AM] from Xuxi:** I believe the correct text for your boyfriend in the morning is GOOD MORNING  
**[10:03 AM] from Xuxi:** and yes, I DID walk you in. the proper response for that is… idk… THANK YOU?

 **[10:04 AM] from Hyuck:** oh… you’re right. sucks that i don’t have a real boyfriend to say good morning to :/ do you know of anyone?

 **[10:04 AM] from Xuxi:** WHAT A JERK! Here I am being a total gentleman and you treat me like this? Ridiculous.  
**[10:05 AM] from Xuxi:** but i did walk you in, yes. I was pretty sure you DID NOT remember that, so did your parents tell you?

 **[10:05 AM] from Hyuck:** um YES. they asked me to invite the handsome chauffeur boy over for dinner, then my little sister said how cute you were.

 **[10:06 AM] from Xuxi:** aw they want me over for dinner? That’s cute, of course i’ll come! Parents and siblings love me, I’m not surprised they fell for the Wong Yukhei charm :~)

 **[10:06 AM] from Hyuck:** yukhei . i wanna talk about this IN PERSON

 **[10:07 AM] from Xuxi:**  you're using my full name again, this must be important............ well i just got out of the gym like 10 minutes ago, maybe this isn’t the best time? I’m kind of sweaty :-/  
**[10:07 AM] from Xuxi:** unless you’re into the sweaty cool manly look ;-) because then in THAT case, i’ll come over!!!!!!!!!!

 **[10:08 AM] from Hyuck:** no come over LATER. my family is going out for some parent-teacher art night, so maybe come over at 6/7

 **[10:09 AM] from Xuxi:** mmm okay baby i’ll be there later.  
**[10:09 AM] from Xuxi:** don’t miss me too much.

 **[10:10 AM] from Hyuck:** trust me, that won’t happen. 

* * *

Yukhei comes over as promised, and is almost exactly on time. He waltzes through Donghyuck’s front door at 6:30, carrying two cups of coffee in his hand. “I didn’t bring anything to eat for snack, because know you wanted to bake.”

Yukhei takes a seat on one of the bar stools by Donghyuck’s island counter. He takes a sip of his coffee, observing Hyuck while he takes out the mixing bowl and some mix. He originally wanted to make cookies, but now he was in a brownie kind of mood.

“So, what was so important that I had to be here in person to talk about?”

“There’s two things. But first, tell me what happened last night.”

“Well you asked me something about the blueberry pancakes then kind of knocked out against my car window? I told you when we got to your house, but then you kind of curled up fetal position on the passenger seat,” As Yukhei explains, Donghyuck feels the immense feeling of utter embarrassment pass through him. “So, I got out of the car and carried you to the front door? And your parents were really nice, they gave me a cookie and everything after I helped you to your room. You’re a really deep sleeper by the way, nothing woke you up.”

Donghyuck slaps the sides of his head. “I can’t believe I did that. Yukhei, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You just, you know, fell asleep and drooled on my car window, and I carried you bridal style to your house. And then your parents fell in love with me.” Yukhei is grubbing this obnoxious, cocky grin and Hyuck simultaneously feels a wave of emotions. Xuxi looks absolutely adorable even when he’s acting like the biggest jerk ever, but at the same time, Hyuck kind of envisions hitting him over the head with his baking whisk. It’s an interesting variety of feelings.

“Well, now they want to invite you to dinner!”

Yukhei, apparently, doesn’t see the problem with the offer from Hyuck’s parents. He reclines in the seat, shrugging. “And? Is that.. a bad thing? I don’t think it is, Hyuck.”

“Xuxi, I don’t want to introduce you to my family. I have.. little siblings, and I’ve never really bought people around. They’re used to Mark and Jeno because they’re my friends and our neighbors. I’ve never had someone I’m interested in come over, I just don’t want them to get attached to you. Because you think they won’t, but they will,” Donghyuck distressfully explains, mixing in two eggs with oil, water, and the brownie mix. He keeps himself focused on stirring so he doesn’t have to look at Yukhei. “Me dating is a big deal because it’s never happened before. My family won’t get me dating you for a month or two, like you driving me to school and out to parties, then suddenly breaking it off. It’s why I wanted to keep this private from them.”

“Donghyuck.. My dear, dear Donghyuck. You are royally overthinking all of this, really. Me coming over for dinner once will not be the end of the world. It’d be more weird if we were dating and I didn’t ever come over for dinner, especially if I’m your first ‘boyfriend’.” cue the air quotes from Yukhei. “I’ll come over, be charming, and I won’t interfere with your family again. It isn’t that big of a deal.”

“Okay..” Donghyuck is convinced. Barely, but convinced nonetheless. He finishes mixing, pouring the batter messily into one of his baking pans. The thick chocolate liquid smooths over, and Hyuck watches wearily as the batter expands to fit the pan. There was no particular reason he should be staring for so long, so he slides the pan with the batter into the preheated oven. After, he immediately turns to open a drawer and pull out two spoons. He throws one towards Yukhei. “You said you’d come over if I’d let you eat the batter.”

“And.. you said I could pick out the movie.” Yukhei’s pouting now, swirling the chocolate onto his spoon slowly. His lip is jutting out, and he stares at Hyuck with the cutest puppy dog eyes. “I drove all the way from the other side of town, can I please pick out the movie?”

Things Donghyuck is immune to:  
Almost everything

Things Donghyuck isn’t immune to;  
Wong Yukhei’s puppy dog pout

Which is precisely how they end up lounging in Donghyuck’s room with a the leftover brownie batter and a freshly made bowl of popcorn. They’re watching some random movie Xuxi chose, but neither are really paying close enough attention to explain what was going on. With Yukhei’s silly and comical feedback every few minutes, Hyuck couldn’t focus.

“Xuxi,” Hyuck is giggling, turning to the boy next to him. “Shh! I’m trying to pay attention!” He wasn’t really.

“You want me to be quiet?”

“Yes!”

“Make. Me.” The words are rebellious, a defiant yet playful look in his eyes as he gazed upon Donghyuck.

But Yukhei is talking to Lee Donghyuck. Donghyuck, the definition of not always following the rules. And in that moment, what he feels is right is grabbing the spoon and smearing the batter over Yukhei’s face like paint. So, that’s exactly what he does. Xuxi is scandalized at the action, having an almost delayed reaction and not jumping until the chocolate cooled on his skin for a second or two.

“Is that how you wanna play, baby? Hmm, Donghyuckie,” Xuxi swipes his whole hand into the bowl, wiping the pads of his fingers all over Hyuck’s face. He leans over slightly, some of his weight keeping the boy in place. He traces Hyuck’s lips with the batter, before traveling upward and drawing lines over the boy’s exposed forehead. Hyuck is wiggling, bouts of laughter spouted towards Xuxi. “Ridiculous! Terrible choice, I’m much, much taller than you.”

“I have chocolate all over my face now!”

“That makes two of us.” grins Xuxi. A mini hiatus of conversation falls, and Hyuck is surprised when Yukhei doesn’t move back over. Half of the senior’s chest is pressed into his side, one of Yukhei’s arms just cradling Hyuck’s head. “Are you.. going to move?”

“Depends,” Yukhei pronounces the word slowly, drawing out each syllable. “Do you.. want me to? Are you uncomfortable?”

Donghyuck wasn’t uncomfortable, no. The position was foreign to him, but it didn’t bring any discomfort to him at all. He’d cuddled with Jeno before and Mark on the rare occasion where he was feeling particularly clingy when sick, but never with a boyfriend. When he gets no direct ‘no’ from Hyuck, Yukhei leans his head on Hyuck’s chest, slinging an arm over his waist.

“You’re really comfy,” whispers Yukhei into Hyuck’s sweater. “Like a pillow. Is this okay?”

Hyuck nods, slowly. He wasn’t sure where to put his hands, so he decides on combing his fingers through Yukhei’s hair. The strands were as soft as Hyuck had imagined in when writing his letter, and still smelled like the summer beach. It wasn’t coarse knotted so Hyuck was able to soothingly develop a pace. Yukhei was humming in content from his position on Hyuck’s sweater. After a while, his fingers grew tired, so he settled on simply cradling Yukhei’s head. It’s a total difference feeling; holding someone as opposed to being held. Though he wasn’t, Yukhei felt like the most precious and fragile being in his grasp. This huge, silly boy was nestled in Hyuck’s arms, completely vulnerable.

And Hyuck forgets. He forgets that this isn’t real, that Yukhei was probably just tired, and wasn’t as nervous to be in Hyuck’s arms as Hyuck was holding him. Yukhei’s heart probably wasn’t beating so loud that the throbbing could be heard and felt all over.. but Hyuck’s was. It wasn’t that he was in love— _of course not_ , it’s only been a little over a week—but his heart aches so terribly bad having Yukhei here like this. Being so close to him and knowing that this wasn’t real.

Hyuck closes his eyes. This time, he wants to forget that it’s not real. He wishes his life was put together in this sense, that maybe he really was just a boy cuddling with his extremely tall boyfriend. No big deal.

However, Hyuck should have known that life wasn’t ever that simple. The alarm that he’d placed for the brownies begins to blare through the speakers, his Michael Jackson ringtone filling the emptiness. Both boys jerk away from each other, Xuxi tumbling off the bed. Gasping, Hyuck looks over.

“Xuxi! Are you okay?”

The senior is rubbing his head. “I was better about a minute ago when you were like, touching my hair? That felt nice,” He didn’t look too disoriented as he hops to his feet, shaking the shock from the fall off. “Anyway! The alarm means the brownies are ready, right? Let’s go!” Like a child on Christmas morning, Yukhei bursts past the door and stomps down the stairs excitedly.

That leaves Hyuck on his bed, a little drained as he glances at the movie that was still playing from his laptop. The main character is lying by the windowsill, balancing a diary in her lap. She’s staring wistfully out the window, watching the snow fall. She takes a dramatic breath before leaning down to jot something on the paper. The screen cuts to the next day, and Hyuck is only sparsely paying attention because Yukhei is calling for him to come down.

He goes downstairs, watching from the bottom step as Yukhei munches happily on a brownie. He’s soon taking out his phone, snapping away from different angles. “Hashtag ‘best boyfriend’, hashtag ‘brownies’, hashtag ‘baking goals’.”

Despite Hyuck looking at him fondly, there’s no way he likes Yukhei. No way. Absolutely not.

**Author's Note:**

> If you reached this far: comments, kudos, even light criticisms are accepted and ENCOURAGED! Comments and kudos increase my chapter updating speed. If you really liked it, let me know on Twitter @ncthusiasts (that would make me SUPER happy) Until next time! ｖ(⌒ｏ⌒)ｖ


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